Here for Good
by Ruby Daughter of Ares
Summary: Percy has another new school, but he has no desire to be kicked out of this one. He needs to get too know the cutest boy in the entire world first. Pernico. High School Human AU. slash, don't like don't read. Full list of ships inside
1. Chapter 1

This is Rick Riordan's story, I own nothing. This is slash, so don't like, don't read. Pretty simple.

SHIPS: Pernico (Percy/Nico), Bianca/Thalia, Frank/Leo, Pipabeth (Piper/Annabeth), OctaLuke (Octavian/Luke), Gruniper (Grover/Juniper), Clarrise/Chris, Silena/Charles

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Percy had enough of all the new schools. Sure he got kicked out a lot, but it was never really his fault. Someone else had started it, so he just opted to finish it. His poor mother had to deal with all of this too. He really didn't mean to cause trouble, but it always snuck up on him and made an unfair attack.

This school was apparently different. His mom's new boyfriend worked there, which was great. He was great, and knowing a teacher at the school made it a lot harder for bullies to pick on you. Paul Blofis was always there for him. He was the best thing that had happened to his mom in, forever. Percy had been called a momma's boy on multiple occasions. He found it a compliment truthfully, his mom was awesome.

The major topic of his fights was homosexuality. Percy was bi, but he hung out with a lot of lesbians and gays. He had never had a real relationship before, not being able to stay around long enough to be serious with anyone. All he really wanted was some true friends that he could actually count on. Ones to call when you feel down, or just need to get something off your chest. That wouldn't come up with lame excuses so they didn't have to deal with you. That was his biggest wish.

That and for his mother to be happy. She was the only constant in his life, and she was going to stay there for a long time. No one could ever really replace her. She was the stone. When his dad died, she did all she could to stay afloat. Had two jobs, worked day and night shifts, never stopped for anything. When Percy came along, he made everything a lot harder. She had to hire a babysitter all the time and deal with everything that came with being a mom. That's why his mom was his role model. Some people looked up to presidents and kings, but his mom was the most noble, caring, and strong person in the entire world.

So when it came to this school, he was ready to clean up his act. No matter what it took. Percy was going into his junior year. It was going to be fine, only two years at this school and he could leave. Granted, the longest he ever spent at one school was 5 months, but that wasn't all that important. And this was important. His mother had begged him to just try and tone it down. Explaining it was almost never his fault was impossible, it would just be grabbing at strings by this point.

He had all of what he thought he would need. A crap ton of pencils and gum, some paper, and a few pens. He could just steal the rest from other people. Crap. No he couldn't. Bad Percy. This was going to be really hard. He yelled out for Paul to hurry. Why drive yourself when you could get someone else to? And people called him dumb.

Nico was struggling to get ready too. He had to compete with his two sisters for the bathroom, even though their house had like seven, everyone wanted the biggest one. His sisters, Hazel and Bianca, were currently taking their precious time removing every single knot from their hair. Hazel, the youngest, was trying to tame the lion mane of hers, which would never work. She should have realized this by now. But she wanted to look great for her first year here; she was going to be a sophomore. This meant a lot to her. She had just moved into this big house after her mom died.

Bianca, his older sister, going into her senior year, had to look perfect for her girlfriend. She hadn't seen Thalia since the end of the last school year. Her horrible mother had dragged her off to California with her brother (how awful). Nico had missed hanging out with his friend Jason too. Okay, friend was a loose term. They helped each other with homework sometimes, Nico giving him most of the answers, and Jason protecting him from anyone who might try and pick on the younger boy.

Nico himself was going into his sophomore year. Last year was pretty horrible. He got made fun of for his dark clothes. He wasn't emo or suicidal, he just didn't like bright colored clothes, they weren't his style. The girls all flocked him for his Italian, but then backed off when he told them he wasn't interested in any relationships. This wasn't necessarily true. He wasn't interested in any of them. If you like someone for something they can do, and not who they are, you are just plain stupid. And Nico wanted someone who could actually hold decent conversation.

Nico and Bianca lived with their mother their entire lives. Their father was gone almost all the time. Then he died, which left them with another mouth to feed. Hazel. His other daughter. After her mother died, she had no one. So Mrs. di Angelo graciously welcomed her with open arms. Bianca was worried about how this might hurt their mother, their father having another kid that none of them knew about. Well, Mrs. di Angelo knew. Their father had told her in the beginning. He had a one night stand and gotten the woman pregnant. He was drunk stupid at the time, so Nico's mother forgave him. He was originally going to shut out that part of his life, but she made him go and check on her all the time. And supply funding for everything the baby needed.

But now she was in poor health. Her husband dying had certainly not helped her lifelong disease. She was supposed to die before the age of thirty, but at forty-five, she was finally feeling the pain. Everyone had joked the only thing keeping her alive was his love. Nico hoped that wasn't true, so she could stay much longer that everyone thought she would.

Nico grabbed his backpack, shouted at his sister to get their asses in gear, and charged to the car. He had only just gotten his driver's license, so there was no way Bianca would let him drive. He sat in the passenger's seat and waited for his sisters to arrive. Hopefully this year would go a lot better than the last.

Leo was ready. He was more than ready truthfully. Frank was not. He was still in his PJ's and brushing his teeth. The little Latino was being ridiculous. No one was that much of a morning person.

Leo and Frank had been living together for two months now. It was the end of the last school year when Leo moved in with Frank and his grandmother. They moved to New York from Canada not that long ago. Leo and Frank shared a room, good old fashioned bunk beds. Yes they were going into high school, but the cottage didn't have any space for two beds. Frank's grandmother's room was barely big enough for a queen. She had to scoot around the edges.

The set up actually worked out pretty well. Leo went to the garage almost every day, working on cars and chatting with mechanics. He had a knack for machinery, his hobby that took over most of his life. Frank liked to practice. Whether it be kickboxing or football, he would always be outside and active, hanging out with other jocks. The opposite of Leo, who was always inside and antisocial. People had tried to get him out of his shell on multiple occasions, mostly Frank. He was worried about the boy. After his mother died, he blamed himself for anything that ever went wrong.

Frank had become his protector. Anyone said anything bad about Leo had a black eye at least. Leo was completely oblivious to everything Frank was doing for him, which was absolutely adorable. Nobody really understood their relationship completely. Except for Frank's grandma, who made fun of the two whenever she could.

Finally Frank was done in the bathroom. He had a red t-shirt and khaki shorts, with plain black converse. He always looked cool, and he had the body for anything. Leo looked down at his tiny self. Extra small shirts were baggy on him. He really needed to gain some weight. Frank and Leo started down the steps to Leo's car, and off to a new year.

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Hope you enjoyed it, I will try and write as much as I can as soon as I can. Thanks for reading! Please leave a review with things I can fix and such.


	2. Chapter 2

Thalia was more than ready to go, Jason was taking way too long with his hair. How much hair gel does a seventeen year old boy need? She was about to leave without him when he came jogging down the stairs.

"Okay, I'm ready." Jason nodded furiously, giving all of his school supplies the once over. Thalia rolled her eyes. This boy needed to calm down for once in his life. Get a girlfriend, or boyfriend. With the amount of product in his hair, boyfriend seemed much more likely.

All Thalia wanted was to see her wonderful girlfriend. Bianca was a dream come true. Beautiful, caring, smart, but a little independent. Just enough to take care of herself, but not enough to not ask for help when she needed it. The one problem was her little brother, who followed her everywhere. But he had started hanging out with Jason, which was good. Thalia had more time with Bianca this way.

They both started off towards the car. Jason and Thalia lived with their mother. She was absolutely horrible. An alcoholic who didn't care about her children at all. After their father left, she ultimately decided that she wasn't ready to be a mother, after she had two children. Quite a delayed reaction. She continued to act, leaving her children in daycare for most of their lives. But, when she stopped getting gigs, she moved to New York, hoping to get more jobs there. It's not like they were poor, but they needed a source of income.

Thalia got in the driver's seat, which wasn't surprising but still made Jason frown. Which made Thalia smirk. She would drive much faster than her law abiding brother. He was such a kiss up all the time. She stepped on the gas, the car jolted forward. It was an old car, but it was a good car. A 1963 Corvette Sting Ray. Everyone at school was jealous. Why wouldn't they be? It was baby blue, and absolutely perfect.

By the time they got to the school, Jason was clutching onto the headrest. His sister really needed to learn how to drive. Thalia got out and slammed the door. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and went to sit by the doors. Jason followed, looking for anyone he knew. They were the first ones there. Which was strange, when Thalia drove, they would always be late. Not like she drove slow, but she would stop and pick up different things before school started. The amount of times they had eaten McDonalds in the morning was incredulous.

Then, out walked a tall girl with black as night hair, swaying behind her. She had on black boots with heels, with a short black skirt and white collared shirt. Thalia jumped up to meet her girlfriend. She looked like crap compared to her. With ripped up jean shorts and a band t-shirt. She had her favorite boots on, which were scuffed beyond belief. Behind her walked Nico and another girl. She was dark skinned with curled mocha hair. She looked really stressed out. Must have been her first day.

Nico went up to Jason, beckoning the girl forward. They all ignored the two girls, who were too busy making out to notice them. Nico gave a slight smile, while Jason absolutely beamed. The girl, who was about the same height as Nico, smiled shyly.

"Hey Jason. This is my half-sister, Hazel. She's staying with us now." Hazel nodded. Jason stuck out a hand to shake. She unsurely grabbed it and shook half-heartedly.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jason Grace. That's my sister over there, Thalia. The one kissing Bianca way too much. Cut it out you two!" Jason yelled at his sister. They both stopped and shrugged, and started to talk about their summers. Jason let out a huff. Nico chuckled.

"So, where is everyone?" Hazel questioned. Looking around, there was no one there. The boys did too. Jason shrugged. Nico pulled out his iPhone and checked the time.

"We are fifteen minutes early. People should start showing up in five to ten." He slid his phone back into his pocket. Hazel let out a sigh. Did they have to be so early? She just wanted the day to start already. The three chatted until another car pulled up into the parking lot. Out of it came a short Latino and a tall Asian. The smaller boy got out of the car and ran up to the group.

"Hey! I'm Leo. I'm new here. So is Frank. I'm going into my sophomore year, but Frank's going into his junior." The boy blurted. It was obvious he was very nervous, but his excitement got the best of him. Jason chuckled.

"I'm Jason. I'm going into my junior year too. Nice to meet the both of you." Jason nodded in greeting to Frank as he walked up, who nodded back.

"Nico di Angelo. Going into my sophomore year too. Pleasure." Nico stated monotonously. Leo nodded excitedly, while Frank barely moved his head.

"And I'm Hazel. It's my first year here too. I'm going to be a sophomore too." She gave a cheery smile to the small boy. Who returned it immediately. Frank glared at the boy, who rolled his eyes. Hazel was confused, but didn't let it get to her. They all started talking about what classes they were going to be in, Jason giving helpful advice about some of the teachers.

"Mr. Blofis is awesome. He teaches language for both sophomores and juniors, so I hope I have him this year too." Jason grinned. Nico rolled his eyes.

"You never shut up about him last year. I swear you had a crush on him." Jason turned to him and frowned, making Nico laugh heartily. Hazel was surprised; Nico was never this joyful around anyone. It was weird seeing him like this, with his friends. It was good.

They all talked about random things. What they did over the summer, to places in town to get the best food, until the front arch started to pile up with people. Slowly everyone started to gather in the atrium. Then the groups started to split up by grade. The juniors and seniors were on the second floor, while freshman and sophomores remained on the first.

Nico took Leo and Hazel to the freshman and sophomores lockers. Hazel immediately found hers, and said goodbye to Nico. Nico went along with Leo, who was now much quieter. It must have been all the people. Was he really shy? He didn't seem it earlier.

Leo found his locker and waved Nico off. Nico then set off towards his own. After cramming everything in, he set off towards his first class, and the first day of hell.

Percy had no idea what he was doing. After Paul dropped him off at the locker bay, he disappeared. All Percy had was a sheet with a bunch of names and numbers. He finally found his locker and put in the combo. It clicked open on the third try. You would think he would be good at this by now. He put all of his extra school books and pencils in it. Before slamming it shut. Great way to start off the day.

"Perce?" Someone behind him called. He turned around quickly because 1) nobody called him Perce, and 2) he recognized the voice from somewhere. Standing there in the middle of the hallway was Grover. He had met Grover at one of his other schools, which was the one he lasted the longest at. He and Grover quickly became best friends. Percy would always stick up for the nerdy boy, which in the end got him expelled.

He rushed over and pulled the ginger into a bear hug. The boy's beanie fell off, but he didn't really mind. Seeing Percy was absolutely amazing.

"What are you doing here?" Percy grabbed Grover's shoulders and started shaking him. The shorter boy laughed.

"My mom decided to let me change schools." Percy looked at him with confusion. Grover sighed. "For my girlfriend." Perce's face lit up, and he pulled him into another hug. Grover was holding his schedule, so Percy grabbed it and checked over it.

"We have the same first period class! Sweet! Let's go before we're late." Percy set off in the wrong direction. Grover gave a little chuckle. Some people never change.

Piper was bored as hell. There weren't any fun people in her class. It was horrible. And it was only first period. This was a good sign. Then in came a boy with mocha hair and tanned skin. He looked around, he was obviously new. Piper waved him over, like the nice person she was. He saw her, then looked behind him, thinking that she was motioning to someone else. Piper let out a giggle, then pointed at him, and then the seat next to her. He slowly crept over and took a seat.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Piper." She put on her usual charming smile and held out her hand. The boy grabbed it and shook a bit too hard.

"Leo. I'm new." He looked really out of place and nervous. Always looking over his shoulder and seeing who else walked in. Piper found it quite amusing.

"I can tell," Piper let out a laugh. "I don't recognize you. I know everyone here. I'm kind of like the queen."

"I find that hard to believe." Leo said under his breathe. Piper gasped, she wasn't offended but shocked at how upfront the boy was. She glared at him, then motioned for him to continue.

"If you are the queen, where are your subjects? They should all be around you, asking about your summer and if you got a boyfriend and how you were doing and such." Leo stared ahead at the board. It had rules and what you needed to get out on your desk. He began to reach for his school bag.

"I like you, Leo. You're smart." Piper gave a mischievous smile, which the Latino returned. He took out the books he needed.

"Not smart, just intuitive." Leo got up to sharpen one of his pencil. This was going to be a good year, Piper promised herself. This boy was pretty awesome, and best friend material.

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Thanks for reading! Please leave reviews and such.


	3. Chapter 3

The final bell rang. And everyone jumped up and charged to the doors. Some of the more social ones chatted by their lockers. The less social ones dumped everything in their bags and rushed to the buses. Octavian waited by his locker for his friend, the mysterious and elusive Rachel Dare. He wasn't really sure if she would show up, she usually didn't. She got distracted very easily.

Ten minutes after the junior finished packing everything into his bag, he let out a sigh and started towards the door. She probably forgot, again. Moping wasn't going to solve anything. He walked down the crowded hallway, barely being able to avoid tripping over someone. Why wasn't everyone leaving? He really wasn't one to judge, he was still there too, after all.

He, regrettably, took the wrong turn and found himself in the senior hallway. Not a good place for anyone that wasn't a senior, and even some seniors found it dreadful. He could just turn back, but that would take more time. He didn't want to miss the bus home on the first day of school. That would be a very bad sign.

So he pursued the hallway. It was just as busy as the junior hallway, except with scarier people. Couples were making out, not surprising. What was surprising was the number of homosexual couples. It was weird for people to be so open about it. Did people not care anymore? Last year was horrible with people getting teased and dunked in toilets over sexuality. Someone must have finally stood up and said something. Or the people that had done it graduated. The latter was the most reasonable.

Lost in a deep train of thought, he forgot to watch his step. A deadly mistake. He tripped over a girl's leg that was jutted out into the aisle, as she sat on the floor, piling things into her bag. So, of course, he ended up going face first into the floor. Almost. Right before he hit, hands grabbed under his armpits and stopped him. He looked up.

He was staring right into the eyes of Luke Castellan. Luke was not only the schools heart throb, but also easily the most attractive and popular guy in the entire school. Very easily. Luke just stared at the younger boy, then gave a small smirk. Luke pulled the other blonde up.

"You're not a senior, now are you?" Luke gave a small chuckle. His friends started filing in behind him. Did they have to do that? It was just going to scare the boy. Luke turned around and waved everyone off. They all gave small noises of detest but did as asked. They all started off towards the doors, without their leader.

"I was taking a shortcut." Like Octavian was going to admit he got lost. Luke raised his eyebrow, obviously not believing him. Octavian did the same.

"Luke Castellan." He introduced himself. Like Octavian didn't know that. Everyone knew that. The people that just started here already knew that.

"Octavian Simmons. Pleasure." He stuck out his hand, which the other boy shook. He held on for much longer than what was acceptable.

"Pleasure is mine. See you around, Tavvy." Luke let go and turned, waving. Octavian huffed. No one got to call him that. But he was too much in shock to really argue with the senior. How could an accident turn out so well?

Clarisse really didn't want to do anything after school. They didn't have any homework, thank god, so why should she have to meet up with all of her friends? Silena was making her come. She thought it was going to bring them closer together. Yes, because over the summer they had obviously forgotten everything about each other. Silena never had the best ideas, but this one was exceptionally bad.

They all had to meet up at this coffee shop that the cheerleaders never shut up about. It was ridiculously annoying. Clarisse only knew the cheerleaders because of Silena. The girl dragged her to all of the practices and parties. She didn't really know why she hung out with the most popular girl in the school. Clarisse was strong, good at fighting, and basically a beast. Silena was the most feminine thing on earth. Small, dainty, but she was independent. Always independent. That was what made Clarisse like her so much in the beginning.

So they sat in a coffee shop with a dozen cheerleaders from last year, and some of their senior friends. Chris and Charles, Clarisse and Silena's boyfriends, also came. Charles was glad to be with Silena wherever she may go, and Clarisse threatened to murder Chris. But they were both there. Luke Castellan showed up too. He had dated Silena for a while, but it didn't work out. The two of them were still the best of friends, everyone thought they just completely forgot about their broken relationship. And essentially they did.

Bianca and Thalia showed up to. The two were sitting together, talking amongst themselves. They never needed anyone else. Everyone made fun of them, being so close. They were together before they started dating. They were best friends for years. They both moved to New York at the same time, and met at school. They started dating in their freshman year, but they knew about their feelings in seventh grade. They both closed themselves off for those two years, not talking to each other. But that was over, and for the last four years they had been together. And it seemed like that wasn't going to end soon.

Luke always came to every party or social gathering. He had to keep his popularity level high. Whether that be by flirting with every girl that walked past him, or sleeping with the prettiest girls in school, he would do anything. He never really liked being popular. It was too much of a hassle. But everyone said how handsome he was, and how much everyone loved him. So he went along with it. It was annoying how girls would throw themselves at him, but he had to put up with it.

The group all complained about their classes and how horrible the year would be. How surprising, complaining teenagers. The café manager rolled his eyes and grabbed the dirty cups off the table. At least they paid. That was all he could ask for.

Percy really didn't want to meet up with a bunch of people he didn't know. He really didn't want to know them. He was just going to be gone in a matter of months. Wait, no he wasn't. He really needed to stop thinking like that. He needed to meet these people. Get closer to them. Make friends, like his mom said. He was already pulling the mom card on himself. That wasn't a good sign.

Grover pulled him towards a big park. Under the shade of a big oak tree, there were a bunch of teens. Some of which Percy had seen in his classes. He kept his head down most of the day, not sure of what to make of this school yet. It seemed like a pretty normal school. No one had gotten the shit beaten out of them, today. That he saw or heard. That was a good sign.

A girl with long, wavy red hair waved at Grover. She was kind of pretty, she looked quite elfish, with sharp features on her face. Grover's face lit up as he waved back. So that was his girlfriend. His friend pulled him to the sitting girl, who rose and fluffed out her skirt.

"This is my girlfriend, Juniper." So Percy was right. He held out a hand to the girl, who eagerly shook it.

"Percy Jackson. I just moved here. I'm a junior." Percy smiled. He was happy Grover got a girlfriend; he had always been bullied at their old school. It also made him jealous. Grover got a serious relationship before him. Percy was always the good looking one, the one all the girls drooled over. But Grover found love before him. He put this aside. He would find someone eventually.

"I know. Grover wouldn't shut up about you," Juniper giggled. She stared intently at her boyfriend. "Have you signed up yet? We don't want to be left out because there wasn't any more room."

"I don't think there will be a long list of people that want to join the gardening club." Grover chuckled. Juniper rolled her eyes and sat back down. A blonde girl from across the way looked over, catching Percy's eye. She was beautiful. Long, curled blonde locks. Stormy grey eyes. He had seen her in class. She got up and strolled over.

"Hello. You must be Percy. I'm Annabeth. Nice to finally meet you." Grover must have never shut up about him. Said boy went and sat down with his girlfriend. Percy smiled.

"Hello. I think we have a few classes together? I think I've seen you before." Percy cocked his head, feigning innocence. The blonde grasped her chin.

"Maybe. I tend to sit in the front of the classroom, so if you sat in the back I probably didn't see you." Annabeth fixed her hair absentmindedly.

"So basically you're a total nerd." Percy pointed out. She glared then chuckled. Grabbing his wrist she pulled him over to a different group. There sat a blond boy and a red headed girl. He recognized the girl from his language class. She had spaced out and Mr. Blofis had to call her out. It was pretty funny. And her curly hair was kind of iconic, she looked a lot like Merida form Brave. The boy he had seen in the hallway.

"This is Rachel and Octavian. Rachel is an artist who needs to pay more attention in class, and Octavian is a total asshole." The red head, Rachel, giggled. Octavian gasped mockingly.

"How dare you. I am not an asshole, I am quite amazing." He held up his head to prove his point. Percy chuckled lightly.

"I'm Percy. Just moved here. Nice to meet you guys." He gave a half-wave. Rachel smiled and went back to her homework. Octavian gave a nod of acknowledgement and turned back around. Annabeth shook her head and sat down. Percy sat down next to her. She seemed pretty nice, and she would be useful. Plus she was hot.

Percy started his homework. It was understatement to say that he had no idea what he was doing. It was the first day, and they had already given them homework. The seniors didn't get homework, why did they? They were almost seniors. He let out a sigh. This was going to be a hard year.

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Thanks for reading! Leave reviews and such if you want to I guess. I'm so good with words.

I have no idea who to ship Hazel and Jason with. If you have any ideas please tell me in the review section. Danke.


	4. Chapter 4

Why was Leo at this creepy mansion? Mostly because Frank wanted to go, and he needed friends. Though he found it hard to believe that this was Nico di Angelo's house.

He gave them the tour, but it was too confusing. There were like a million rooms. Frank had to stop him from accidentally wandering off multiple times. He was just drawn to going the wrong direction. He never trusted himself to drive long distances. Always got lost and had to call a friend for help. Which made him more upset because he really didn't have many friends. Or any. Sometimes. Okay a lot.

It was great that he had Frank now. The muscle bound Canadian had already saved him from a lot of trouble. First his grandmother took him in after finding him on the street. He got a particularly nasty foster home and really didn't want to stay there another night. Sure, he got picked on and trash thrown at him, but there wasn't any real danger. Well, there wasn't for a while.

Then he ran into a really big guy. He was about seven foot tall and ripped. Maybe not seven foot, but Leo, being very short, was a horrible judge of height. The guy dragged him into an ally and started beating the living shit out of him. Then he held a knife to his throat. It was easily the scariest situation he had ever been in. He asked for money, and when Leo emptied his pocket to show he didn't have any, the man pushed so hard he almost broke his rib.

That's when a gun was pushed up to the man's head. With a finger on the trigger, and old woman held it, with a blank expression on her face. Old didn't really cut it, she looked ancient. But that really didn't seem to matter when you are holding a gun. The man backed up immediately. Saying he didn't mean anything and was just joking around. She kept the gun pointed at him until he ran away silently.

With the man gone, Leo slid to the ground. He took deep breathes, but that just hurt. The man had actually broken his rib. Fantastic. The woman dropped the gun in her handbag and shuffled over. With great effort, she kneeled down next to the boy. She moved his hands from his ribcage, and lightly poked it. Leo gave a grunt. Screaming would probably alert someone. He didn't want to do that; he would just get relocated again. He actually liked this town.

"We need to get you to the hospital. Come on." The lady stood up carefully. Leo just stared at her. She made a hand motion to get up. He barely could, but he didn't want to argue with a woman with a gun. Slowly he hobbled after her, gasping for air. She called an ambulance, but told them not to put the lights on or anything. It was only a broken rib. Only a broken rib, this woman was scaring him more by the minute.

When they got there, Leo was back on the ground. They took him to the hospital, but he blacked out before that. When he awoke, there was a very handsome Asian in his hospital room. He tried to sit up, like everyone does when they wake up, but fell back. The boy chuckled, he looked about the same age as Leo. Maybe a bit older.

"My grandmother is the one that saved you. I'm Frank." He was very to the point. That was good. After waking up in the hospital he really didn't want to be solving any riddles.

"Leo. Why are you here?" He was also trying to get to the point. This guy was kind of scaring him. Staying with him when they didn't even know each other. Really nice and all, but also very creepy.

"My grandma told me to stay with you. She had to go shopping, that's why she found you. She told me everything, don't worry. You're safe here." Frank tried to give an encouraging smile. Leo grumbled and tried to raise himself. Frank went over and pushed a button that raised the entire mattress.

"Thanks. I hope I'm safe. This is a hospital after all, I really hope there aren't any psycho killers or anything. But if anyone gets shot, it would be a lot easier to get to them." Leo joked. Frank rolled his eyes, obviously not finding the boy amusing.

"You're going to be staying with us. My grandma is going to file all the paperwork and stuff by the time they release you." Frank looked out the window. It was hard to tell if he was happy or just bored.

"Do I not get a say in this?" Leo asked. How could they just do that? He didn't even know them. Sure he was grateful for her saving him but this was a bit too much.

"Seeing as though you were out on the street and not at home, I can imagine you don't like being there. So I thought you could stay with us. They let us go through your file, so I know your mom is dead. Mine is too. I know your dad left after you were born. Mine did too. But you don't have any other relatives willing to take you in. I have my grandmother. So I asked her if we could take you in to in. She agreed immediately. Neither of us want you on the streets." Frank explained.

"I don't even know you. How can I just move in with you? I don't have a school to go to, I don't have any money, I have nothing." Leo was more confused than ever. There were good Samaritans, and then there was Franks and his grandma.

"Exactly, you have nothing and I have more than enough. And you and I are very similar." Frank was trying his best to calm him down, but in the end nothing would help. It took a week for him to even admit that he was happy there. But it changed his life, and he could never thank Frank and his grandmother enough.

Nico had decided to invite everyone to his house. By that he meant a couple of new kids. Plus Piper and Jason. Nico wasn't necessarily cool, but everyone knew him. Mostly as Bianca's little brother, but that was enough for him. Jason was on the football team, and Frank was going to try out. Piper didn't take part in any sports. Not that she wasn't athletic, she just didn't really like them. People had tried to talk her into cheerleading, but she almost slapped them. Almost. Jason held her back. That's what best friends are for. Hazel was too shy to go out for it. And Leo was a stick, so that really limited his options.

Piper had invited Leo, who insisted Frank come. Hazel lived there, and Bianca was out with her senior friends. Jason was glad Nico had invited him, better than being at home with his mother. Piper didn't want to be home alone, and wanted to get to know Leo better. Frank was just there. Monitoring Leo as usual. That boy really needed a collar.

They all sat down at a massive dining table and dumped their school work on it. Everyone except Leo who was too busy gawking at the architecture and art. His ADHD levels were through the roof. Frank got up and maneuvered him into a seat. Everyone laughed, but apparently it was a normal thing because neither of them seemed bothered. Everyone did their homework in silence. Until Piper started looking off of Leo's paper. He covered it with his arm childishly. Then Piper grabbed his arm and lifted it.

"Hey! Do your own work!" He picked up his stuff and moved to the other side of Frank, who laughed at the boy.

"You are no fun." Piper groaned and went back to her work. He wouldn't even let her cheat off of him. How mean.

Nico got done first. He had the least amount. He got up and grabbed some chips from the cabinet. Hazel was the first to start munching on them, accidently dropping it all over her paper. She had to bring it over to the trashcan and push it all off. Nico grabbed a book and started reading as everyone finished up.

When they all got done, Piper suggested volleyball in the backyard. Everyone, even Leo, agreed. They all ran outside, ignoring Nico yelling to slow down. He let out a sigh. They never listened to him. He walked out and saw them all by the net. Frank and Jason volleying it, with Leo trying to grab it. A very sad game of monkey in the middle.

So he ran towards and grabbed the ball in midair, making the two groan and Leo cheer. They kept playing until they were all too tired to function normally. If this is what it was like to have friends, Leo really wanted to be friends with everyone.

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Thanks for reading! Sorry it's mostly Leo, I got a bit carried away. Pernico is going to be soon! And OctaLuke, and all the other ships. Still have no idea for Jason and Hazel. Would having OC's be okay with you guys? Thank you funlove109 for the help! Please write reviews and such. Whatever you wanna do, I don't rule your life. I just write.


	5. Chapter 5

It was the fourteenth day of school, not counting weekends. Yes, Percy had been counting. It was important to keep track of how many days you had gone without any incidents. This was a new record for him. After almost three weeks Percy had gotten to know everyone in the nerd group a lot better. He met Jason Grace, who was on the football team. He seemed pretty nice. He would always talk to him between classes. Knowing some of the more popular kids was good, less people would pick on you. It seemed like if he really wanted to fit in, he needed to befriend Luke Castellan. But he was a bit too high up the social ladder. He would fall off if he tried to climb up there.

The first incident wasn't major. It was a silly argument with a sophomore. It was the sophomore's fault anyway. Running straight into him.

Percy was coming out of his classroom, after everyone else. He dropped something on the floor and didn't want to pick it up during class. He was too lazy. So he came out and started walking down the hallway. At his locker he shoveled his books into his arms, slammed it, and kept moving. Of course his next class was on the other side of the school. He had already been late twice, third time meant a detention. So of course he had to run head first into another boy.

Both groaned as they hit the floor, books scattering everywhere. The other boy was about to apologize when Percy started yelling.

"What did you do that for, asshole?" Percy shouted. He really didn't want that detention. His mom had tried too hard to get him into this school. It was uncharacteristic for him, but he was seriously pissed.

"I didn't mean too, no need to call names here." The boy replied calmly. He had dark hair that hung just above his eyes. He wore dark jeans and a black t-shirt. Goth. Of course. Percy had dealt with them before.

"Just shut it and move." Percy hastily grabbed all of his stuff and stood up, but the stupid sophomore stood right in front of him.

"No. Say you're sorry." The younger boy demanded. He looked way too pale. Was he trying to be a vampire? Percy huffed.

"I don't have time to deal with this." Percy pushed past the teen.

Nico di Angelo stood there and watched the rude junior march past him. Now he would be late for class. How hard was it to say you were sorry anyway? Sheesh.

Octavian had thought he had seen the last of Luke Castellan, at least personal encounters. But everywhere he turned, there the boy was. He was done dealing with him and his horrible nickname. Octavian was positive Luke didn't even know his real name.

"Does he do it just to piss me off? He's doing a great job." Octavian complained to Rachel. Rachel shrugged, too engrossed in her book to really listen. He rolled his eyes.

"And I'm pretty sure he's stalking me. Why would the most handsome and popular guy in the school stalk me?" He was just questioning himself at this point. Rachel shut the book and stared Octavian right in his eyes.

"Maybe it's fate." She went back to her book immediately. Octavian stood, he was done with Rachel and her weirdness.

As he walked out of the library, there he was. Luke smiled and gave a slight wave. Octavian was about to tell him off, but Luke started before he could.

"Hello Tavvy. Hope you've had a good day," his smile widened. "I was wondering if you would like to go- uhm. Would you like to g-go on a date. With me. Soon. Preferable today."

Octavian's jaw dropped. He had never seen Luke so nervous about anything. And wasn't Luke…

"You're gay?" Was Octavian's first reaction. Probably a bad sign for Luke. Luke fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

"Well, I'm not sure. I know I like you. But I like girls too. I mean none here. I've never liked another guy before you, so, I don't know what that means." His face grew increasingly red. Octavian gave a small smile.

"Well then, yes." He lifted his chin into the air a bit. Luke cocked an eyebrow.

"What?" The junior rolled his eyes.

"Yes I'll go on a date with you. Meet you by the front doors when schools over. Okay?" Luke's slight frown turned into a full blown smile. He grabbed Octavian and gave him a constricting hug. Then realized what he did and let go immediately. He was about to apologize when the boy started laughing. Not knowing what to do, Octavian leaned up and put a light kiss on his cheek, then briskly walked away.

That was the most embarrassing thing he had ever done! But Luke, the most handsome guy ever, had asked him out. He had to tell Rachel! He had to tell everyone. He realized he was almost running and stopped himself. He breathed in and out slowly, trying to slow his heart rate. This was the best day ever. But he had a date at the end of the day. Crap. He had a _date_ at the end of the day. He needed expert advice and fast.

Luke had no idea what had happened. But it seemed like a good idea. Would anyone know about this? Who would Tavvy tell? Maybe his friends. What if the whole school found out he was dating a guy? Granted this school had a ton of homosexual couples, but still. Luke was Luke. The heartthrob. He wasn't supposed to be tied down. And he most definitely did not go on dates. With underclassmen.

Rounding the corner he literally ran into Travis and Conner. Perfect. They would listen to him, right? They were good friends.

"Whoa, you okay, bro? You look like you witnessed a murder. Or you killed someone. Just tell us where the body is and we'll bury it." Travis joked. Connor nodded seriously. Luke shook his head multiple times, not really understanding what they were saying.

"I-I just asked Tavvy out. And he said yes." The Stoll brothers immediately stopped. They're faces turned serious in an instant.

"Did you not want him to say yes?" Connor asked. What was this all about? He had heard about his boy on multiple occasions but he didn't think Luke liked him that way. It did make a lot more sense now.

"No no no. I wanted him to say yes. But he did and we are meeting up after school and I am so confused gods help me." He started swaying on the spot. Travis was about to bring him into the nurse's office when Jason walked up behind them.

"Hey guys. What are you doing? Don't you have class?" Jason questioned. Luke looked worn out. Had they already practiced today? Without him? Why would they do that? Sure they Stoll's were probably some of the best players on the team and of course Luke was the quarterback, but that didn't mean they could go off without the rest of them. But Connor and Travis looked fine. Confusing.

"You are right, my friend, off we go!" Travis and Conner got on either side of Luke and dragged him to their next class. They would just have to figure out a date during lunch. Jason shook his head and headed off to class too. He would never understand them.

Leo was beyond bored. Not only did they have no homework but they also had a sub. So he was left with nothing to do and no one to talk too. Nico was on the opposite side of the room and Piper was focusing on studying for a test she had next period. Leo had already taken it. And bombed it.

So left to his own devices he would of course get in trouble. And that was exactly what he did. First he made a dozen or so paper airplanes. He wouldn't say it aloud but he made the best airplanes in the entire world. They could probably fly for miles. After completing all of them, he needed a target. Nico seemed like a good one. He had his head stuck in a book anyway.

As soon as the sub turned his back, Leo shot off one. It nailed the boy in the side of the head. Leo turned around immediately and looked at the board bored. Nico started looking around for who did it. After giving up he turned back to his book.

As the sub kept his back turned, Leo sent another one. This time Piper noticed. She muffled a giggle as it hit Nico again. This time he grabbed it as it fell to the ground and turned angrily. He saw Piper laughing and gave her the stink eye. She started waving her hands, which made Leo start laughing. Then of course the sub turned around.

"You. Valdez. Detention after school," he marched up to the boy's desk and gave him a slip. He let out a defeated sigh. Piper gave him the sorry face, and Nico almost laughed. Leo glared at him and put his head down on his desk. At least he got free nap time.

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Thank you for all the reviews and such! Keep writing and stuffs. You can tell how good with words I am. This is really sad. But anyway, next chapter we have detention with Percy and Leo. And Octavian and Luke have their date! I don't know if you're excited, but I am. Suggestions are always welcome. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Percy was ready for detention. It would probably be the best part of his day. During gym he got nailed in the face with a dodge ball, getting a nosebleed. Great. He got an F on his homework because he lost it. Perfect. And Grover had yelled at him when he explained why he got a detention. It wasn't his fault, it was the stupid sophomores. His slip read room A209. He gave a huff and opened the door slowly.

He was the first one in the classroom. He clenched his teeth. First one to detention, last one to class. Of course. He took a seat near the middle. The back was for trouble makers, which he was trying not to be, and the front was for nerds, which he was certainly not.

The next one in was a Latino boy. He sat down right next to Percy. He turned immediately and held out his hand. What was with him? This was detention, right?

"Leo Valdez. Since we are going to be here for the next two hours might as well know each other's names." He explained seeing the look on Percy's face.

"Percy Jackson." He barely shook his hand. The boy seemed too ambitious. He turned back and faced the front. A few more kids shuffled into the room. Most sitting in the back.

"Why are you here?" Leo asked. He really wanted a conversation. Percy sighed. Maybe talking would make it better.

"Late to class three times. It wasn't my fault though. You?" Percy had to make sure everyone knew it wasn't his fault.

"Paper airplanes. Really bored in class. I'm a natural at getting in trouble." Percy smirked. Maybe he wasn't so bad.

"Me too, I usually get another school every few months," Leo laughed. Percy turned around, was he laughing at him.

"Ditto. And new foster homes too," Percy's mouth slowly turned into an 'O'. Leo giggled. "Yeah, I'm just glad to have a good one right now."

So this boy didn't have an actual family. He knew about switching schools, but switching families must have been even worse. Living with his evil step-father was horrible by itself, but having multiple of them everywhere you go was just unimaginable. He suddenly felt bad for the boy. But seeing the bright smile on his face calmed him a bit. He was at least trying. You had to give the boy credit for that.

"You wanna meet up after this? And just talk." Percy offered. The boy's smile grew even wider, if that was possible.

"That would be awesome!" Just seeing Leo this happy was enough to make Percy's day a whole lot better.

Luke was not ready. Not at all. The Stoll's had helped as much as possible. They fixed his hair and his clothes. They made him shower twice, once to get clean, and one to make him calm down. He was overthinking all of this. It was just a date. He had been on those before. Granted, he never liked anyone he was with. This was going to be horrible.

He was about to step out of the locker room when Connor grabbed him again. He shoved some cologne into his hand. Luke let out a sigh and went back to put some on. Travis gave him pointers as he completed his makeover.

"Don't offend him. He seems like a nice guy, but you don't know what might set him off. Don't try too hard either. You have to play it cool. And remember, he likes you. He said yes, didn't he? So be yourself. Got it? Go." Travis shoved him out into the hallway. Maybe he was ready. He strode down the hallway like the king, which he basically was. If only Octavian had as much confidence as him.

He had told two people about his date. Those two people were Rachel and Annabeth. He thought they would be able to give him a few pointers and help him. He was dead wrong. Rachel went crazy, yelling about how she knew they were destined to be together or something. Annabeth, who he expected would be the most calm, started freaking out.

They both decided they would make him look beautiful. Octavian pointed out that he wanted to be handsome, not beautiful, but they ignored him. They fixed his hair twenty times, with a hundred different hair products. They stole someone's shirt out of their locker. He tried to protest but they ignored him. He would have to return it later. He had to admit, it was a nice shirt. Wouldn't Luke notice that he changed shirts? Oh well.

Rachel and Annabeth stepped back to admire their masterpiece. The usually neatly dressed nerd looked like a proper gentleman. He had a long sleeved plaid button up shirt that was tucked into his jeans. The jeans were snug but not too tight. He wore his usual brown dress shoes. For once being a total geek came in handy. How he managed to land a total jock was a mystery to everyone.

They both started fangirling over him. Even though Rachel had moped throughout the entire thing, complaining that Octavian had never told her that he was gay, she looked so proud of him. Annabeth was beside herself. She dragged him over to the mirror. They were in the girl's locker room. It was really a big blow to his masculinity, but he allowed it. He looked pretty good. He had to admit, they did really good.

He turned and put an arm around both of them, giving them a big squeeze. They both giggled childishly. They needed to learn to control themselves

"Thank you, for this and for…" He didn't really want to finish that sentence. It was already embarrassing enough. Rachel escaped his grasp, followed by Annabeth.

"For what? We wanted to help you. What else did we do?" Rachel got up in his face a little, standing on her toes. As he avoided her gaze, Annabeth grabbed his hand.

"For not making a big deal about it. Me being… gay and stuff." He could barely squeeze it out, then it all came out so fast they barely heard it. They both looked at each other and started laughing. He had apparently missed something.

"Sweetheart, we've known you were gay forever. You think normal boys dress this nicely every day? Or care that much when a hot guy follows him? You nearly had a heart attack when you told me you accidentally ran into him! We've always known. You just never admitted it, which made us not want to bring it up. Didn't want to force you into anything. You should have just told us if it meant that much to you." This time Rachel grabbed his hand, she squeezed affectionately.

"But now it's time for your date with the guy of your dreams! Go!" Annabeth pushed him out into the hallway. He gave a little laugh and waved goodbye to his fairy godmothers. They were most definitely the best friends he could ever ask for. He checked his watch. Of course he was late. He was never late. He started running down the hallway, bag bouncing on his back. He still had no idea where they were going, but that didn't really matter to him.

He got to the door and saw Luke leaning up against the support beam. He gave his usual charming smile, causing Octavian's already red face to get even redder. He was truly adorable. Luke couldn't believe he ever doubted himself. He stood completely straight. Octavian stopped a few feet in front of him.

"Ready to go, Tavvy?" Octavian frowned. Crap. He already broke one of Travis' rules. This was off to a good start. He opened his mouth to correct himself but the boy just laughed.

"Of course, Lukey." He walked right past the boy. Luke slightly chuckled to himself, then ran to catch up with the boy. He guided the boy in the direction of his car. Octavian sat in the passenger's seat, looking around awkwardly. Luke sat down and tried to start the car multiple times before it actually worked. His car was indeed a piece of garbage, but it was the best he could get. Living off the monthly check your father gives you didn't really make a nice car affordable. Especially when your mother has a horrible mental illness. He gave a large sigh, which Octavian noticed.

He put his hand on top of Luke's bigger one. He cocked his head to the side. He didn't want to intrude but he was concerned about his date. Luke shook his head. How could he be that perfect. He didn't ask the questions he didn't want to answer. He gave a slight smile, which Octavian returned.

They set off finally for their date. They chatted about school and what teachers Octavian had. Luke joked about the football team and Octavian complained about how everyone tried to get him to try out.

"By everyone I mean my two friends. They almost signed me up for it, but I threatened to kill them. So they dropped it." Octavian crossed his hands behind his head. Luke frowned slightly.

"Why wouldn't you? You seem athletic, maybe a wide receiver? But do you not like football or something?" Luke thought having Octavian on the team, seeing him half naked in the locker room every day. This seemed like a really good idea. Octavian shook his head.

"I am what you would call a nerd. Yes, I'm not the least athletic person, but I'm not the most. But anyway, nerds and jocks don't get along. Jocks usually bully nerds like me. Going out for the team is like an invitation to be mauled," Octavian explained. How did Luke not know this? It was improbable enough that he asked him out. But going out for the team was just suicide. Everyone knew that.

"Who had bullied you? My players are always nice to everyone," Octavian looked out the window. "Tavvy, tell me."

"It was a while ago, it's all fine now." He concluded. Luke really wasn't satisfied with that answer, but he didn't want to push his luck. The rest of the ride was in silence. Until Luke pulled up to an Italian pizzeria, and Octavian started laughing his ass off.

"What? You don't like it?" Luke was suddenly worried the Stoll's had set him up for something horrible. But the boy shook his head.

"It's perfect. I love his place. Go here every Saturday with my friends." He smiled fondly at the red, white, and green sign. Luke realized he was holding his breathe and let out a huge sigh of relief.

At the door, Luke held it open for his date. He did know some things about being a gentleman. Octavian nodded at him and gave a small smile. Walking in right after the boy, he followed him to a booth. He actually had never been here before, but it looked quite cozy. Probably family owned.

Octavian waved over Luke's head, and seconds later a middle aged woman appeared with one menu. She handed it to Luke. Why didn't she get one for Tavvy?

"I'm Margaret. Nice to meet you. You must be Luke." Her voice was sweet. How did she know his name? Octavian's face was surprisingly red, and he gave a very fake cough. Margaret chuckled.

"Sorry dear, it's strange to see you here without your friend, that's all. You get your usual. What would you like, sweetie?" She held a notepad in her hand, she scribbled down a single word. Luke read it upside down. Octavian. He really did come here a lot. He looked down at the menu, everything looked really good. He looked up at Octavian, who was one step ahead of him.

"Number 5. It's the best." He said, and stole Luke's menu. She snatched it away, feigning anger. She turned her head the other direction.

"Then why don't you ever order it?" She asked mischievously. He gave her the most genuine smile Luke had ever seen.

"I have my reasons." She giggled like a school girl and walked off with their order. Luke was very confused, but seeing Octavian so happy, he really didn't care what was going on. The boy really was adorable. No matter how many times he told himself they were on a date, it never really sunk in until it was time to leave. Luke paid, and Octavian almost had a heart attack. Margaret laughed at the both of them. When Tavvy excused himself to bathroom, Margaret came over to chat with Luke.

"Listen, he's a really sweet boy. He pretends to be all big and proud, but he's a big softie. I know you're the most popular boy at his school, he mentioned you a few times. Please don't lead him on and break his heart. It would really ruin him. He's never had a boyfriend before, yet alone admit his sexuality. You seem like a good kid, but I just wanted to make sure. And don't tell him I said any of this, he'll get angry." She gave him a wink and went back to the kitchen.

Luke took a minute to fully comprehend what she said. Tavvy never admitted to being gay? He probably never told anyone. This must just be equally as hard for him. Especially since he had never even had a boyfriend. Then he realized something. Octavian would be his boyfriend if they kept going out on dates like this. That thought made his insides heat up, in the best way possible.

Tavvy got back from the bathroom and waited by the door. Luke almost fell over himself trying to get up, which made the nerd double over laughing. The jock mumbled curses under his breathe. Octavian patted him on the back as he walked past. The entire kitchen staff yelled various Italian phrases probably meaning goodbye at the couple. But maybe not, because Octavian's face grew red as they walked out the door.

On the way to Tavvy's house, Luke would not shut up about the food. Octavian just shook his head. When they got to the very large house, Luke was almost sad. He had one of the best days of his life. And by far the best date.

Luke got out of the car to show Octavian to the door. It was only seven, school got out at three. But that was the best four hours Octavian had ever had.

"Would you like to come in? My parents are away in Europe for a business meeting." Octavian offered. As much as Luke didn't want the date to end, he had to go and check on his mother. He shook his head sadly.

"My mom's expecting me. Thanks for the offer." Octavian nodded, there was something more than that to it. He could hear it in his voice. He didn't want to go either.

Luke stepped forward, and, very slowly, pushed his lips gently against the younger boys. Octavian had never felt something so perfect. He expected him to be rough and demanding, but it was almost angelic. As soon as he felt the pressure leave his lips, he immediately wanted it right back. He opened his eyes again, only to see Luke's patented smirk.

He got back into his car and drove away, smiling like an idiot. He started cheering in his car. Octavian was having the same feeling. He calmly walked into his house, dropped his bag on the ground, walked over to the couch, dived onto it, and screamed into his pillow. He would have to tell Rach and Annie everything tomorrow. He felt like he was walking on air.

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I'm sorry it's so long and all OctaLuke but this couple is just tearing my heart out so I just couldn't stop writing. Review and stuffs if you want to. I swear there will be Pernico soon! I'm getting there, slowly but surely. They gotta calm down from their argument first. Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Piper had a weird feeling in her stomach. It was telling her something was up. If there was anything she could rely on no matter what, it was her stomach. It was always right. So when she walked up to Nico and got a weird feeling, she knew everything was wrong. So she studied and observed. Nico wasn't always like this, was he? Fixing his hair, smoothing his clothes, and organizing everything. Was it just her or was he acting much more feminine than usual.

She knew if there was anyone she could ask, it would be Hazel. She had been living with him for a while now, but not her entire life. This was good. She would be the best judge of character.

"Hey, Haze. Whatcha doing?" Piper feigned innocence flawlessly. Hazel gave her a small smile. She was reading a book for class during lunch. Piper usually sat with Jason, Reyna and Leo on the other side of the table, but she was up for a change. Frank was moved to the other side of the table, next to Leo. He wouldn't mind.

"Nothing. What's up?" Hazel had learned to fit in perfectly. She was a really sweet girl. A bit shy at first, but when she opened up you could tell she was strong willed. Piper liked that about her.

"Have you noticed anything about Nico recently?" Piper sat down next to her, placing her trey down with a small thud. Hazel pondered this for a moment, then shook her head. Crap. Was Piper imagining things?

"You don't think he's been acting more… feminine?" Piper cautiously asked. She didn't want to sound mean or anything. Hazel bit her lip.

"He's always been kind of girly, in his own way. He cares about how he looks and what people think of him. But I don't know him that well, so I'm not the best judge of character." But she was wrong. How could she not have noticed! It all made sense.

"Hazel, I think Nico is gay," Piper said slowly. You could see Hazel's brain working in her eyes. She opened her mouth slowly, then closed it. Her eyes widened. She nodded furiously.

"Oh my gods! He is-" Piper clapped her hand over the dark skinned girls mouth. Hazel realized her mistake and gave a small smile. Piper removed her hand.

"How did you know?" Hazel whispered. She shrugged.

"I don't know, I think my gaydar picked it up." Piper sounded bored. Her revelation was intriguing, but Nico would never admit it. Hazel's eyes widened once again.

"Gaydar? But that means you're…" Piper sighed and nodded. This wasn't how she imagined admitting she was a lesbian but it worked.

"Don't tell anyone though. I haven't really come out, you know." Hazel nodded furiously. Piper had told her first. She was fitting in more and more at this school.

Percy really wanted to talk to Leo more. But sadly they weren't in the same grade, but they had the same lunch. Although his table was full. And he was busy talking to Frank. He had told him all about the Asian yesterday, after detention. It was great to talk to someone that had the same kind of background that you did. It was like a competition of what horrible things they had done.

Leo was more of a trickster. He pulled the biggest pranks to get expelled and moved. Or he got beat up. Percy was the opposite. He never wanted to get kicked out, he just got into fights a lot. It wasn't his fault. And he was the one who usually beat up the bullies. If he and Leo had gone to school together before this, they would have made the best team ever. But they both agreed they wanted to stay at this school as long as possible. Leo for Frank and his friends, Percy for his mom.

But he settled for annoying Annabeth. She wouldn't leave Octavian alone all lunch. Apparently he had a date yesterday, but no one would tell them who. But so far he heard he, and not she. Which explained a lot. He was probably really shy about admitting he was gay. It was upsetting people couldn't accept it.

"So, Annie, you got a boyfriend?" Percy tried his best to flirt with the hot blonde. Anyone would have to admit she was smoking hot. She scoffed.

"No, and I never will." She turned around to face him, her grey eyes staring into his soul. He frowned.

"Why not? I know I might not be your type, but not ever?" He raised his eyebrows. Rachel and Octavian started listening in too.

"Because, you idiot, I am a lesbian." She gave a light smile and turned back around. Octavian and Rachel's look of surprise must have they didn't know this, but didn't want to intrude. Annabeth started asking Octavian more questions, and he happily replied.

That was not what Percy was expecting. You learn something new every day.

Luke was smiling like an idiot again. This only happened when they win a football championship, but they had not yet played a single game. Clarisse waved a hand in front of his face. He snapped out of his stupor immediately, but the grin would absolutely not stop.

"What happened to you? I'm used to that stupid smirk, but this is just too much." Clarisse's boyfriend, Chris, nodded in agreement. Luke put his feet up on the table and leaned against the wall.

"Is a guy not allowed to be happy, Clarisse?" He questioned. Clarisse scoffed and went back to her lunch. Chris shook his head but gave him a small smile. They had always been good friends.

"It looks like someone got laid." Luke almost fell over as the Stoll's walked up and sat on either side of him. His face turned beet red immediately.

"Did not!" Luke cried defensively. The entire table erupted in laughter, besides Silena. She knew the look on Luke's face. He was unbelievable happy. He was never this happy. He had found someone. She beamed right at him, causing him to look away.

"So what happened then? You aren't ever this happy." Charlie asked. Silena nodded hastily. Luke let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I had a date yesterday." The entire table erupted again. Even Bianca and Thalia cheered. If Luke had a date, it meant that he had finally tried to settle down with someone. Which was great news, everyone loved Luke and wanted him to be happy. He was quite for a while.

"Who was it? You can't just stop there!" Thalia shouted. Thankfully the cafeteria was loud, if anyone had heard he had a date, the entire school would be on top of him.

"I'm not going to tell you, you'll just make fun of me. Or them." He glared. Clarisse huffed. He must really like this girl, enough not to tell anyone. Or…

"You're dating a guy!" She whisper-shouted. His face, that had just gone back to normal color, flushed immediately. Everyone gasped. Thalia and Bianca jumped up and started dancing, the Stoll's clapped him on the back. Silena had a mini heart attack and fell into Charlie. Chris and Clarisse started laughing their asses off.

"You didn't think we'd be okay with it? We have Thals and Bianca, why wouldn't we accept you?" Chris asked gently. Thalia and Bianca sat back down and nodded eagerly. Luke thought this through for a moment.

"It's not you guys, it's just everyone in general. I'm the school playboy. I don't want people making fun of him or anything. He's not just a fling, either." Luke practically growled. He wanted everyone to know he was serious about this relationship. Silena started clapping. She was overjoyed.

"You really like this boy. You're protecting him from everyone. But in the end I'll figure out who it is. Romance is my specialty after all!" She gave a big smile. Luke just blushed more.

"If you're so good with romance, set my brother up with someone." Bianca challenged. Silena's usually serene face changed into a mischievous smirk.

"I can do that." Bianca opened her mouth to take it back Thalia gave her the 'it's no use' look. She sighed. What was she going to do with that girl?

Luke saw Octavian across the room. It was paining him to not be able to go over and talk to him. It looked like he was being harassed by his two girlfriends. He would have to learn their names soon. He saw Tavvy stand and walk across the room out the door. Luke took that as his cue.

"Pardon me, I've got a meeting." He gave a wink and started off towards the door. As soon as he was out of earshot, Clarisse leaned over to the other side of the table.

"Should we follow him?" Travis was about to say no when Silena cut in.

"He is allowed some privacy. I'll find out for you guys, just you wait." She cleaned her mouth off with her napkin and placed it back on her tray. Did she always have to be so proper? Clarisse gave a sigh and leaned up against her boyfriend. He placed his arm around her.

Silena smiled at her best friend. When Luke was ready to tell them, he would tell them. But Silena wasn't them. She would know before Friday of next week, probably sooner. She knew Luke better than anyone at that table, even the Stoll's. Their relationship was brief, but it was dear to her. She would never forget how sweet he was. But in the end they just weren't compatible. Whoever this boy was, he must be pretty damn special.

* * *

Silena is pretty awesome. She's gonna figure it out. Poor OctaLuke. Anyway, hope you liked it. I updated twice today, sweet. I'm on top of things for once. Review if you wanna, live your life. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Nico knew that whatever Jason had in store was probably bad. He never had any good ideas. He was a smart kid, just not very good with planning. That's when Nico had to take over, but of course he wouldn't tell Nico what was going on. It was the weekend, he should be doing whatever he wanted to do, not what Jason wanted.

He was pulled into a big park. There were a bunch of other teens from their school there, but they looked like the nerd group. Nico didn't usually hang out with the nerds. Not that he wasn't smart, he just didn't know any of them. They seemed plenty nice, but he wasn't the most social person. He knew almost everyone, but they didn't know him. He had friends that were popular, but that was as close as he was going to get.

Under the tree was Rachel, an artist, and Annabeth, one of the smartest girls in the entire school. Usually Octavian Simmons was with them, but he was nowhere to be seen. Then there was Grover and Juniper, probably the cutest couple in the entire school, besides Silena and Beckendorf. It was hard to beat them. Then there was… no.

It was that asshole he ran into in the hallway. He had been late to his next class because of him. The boy caught his eye at the same time, the smile he had immediately turned into a snarl. He got up and walked over.

"Oh, Percy! This is my friend, Nico di Angel-" Percy was right up in Nico's face again, completely ignoring Jason.

"Thanks to you I got a detention, but I got to meet Leo so, so I guess I forgive you." Percy crossed his arms. Nico gave a small growl.

"Well I was late too, but it wasn't just my fault. You ran into me too. We should just forget about it." Nico tried diplomacy. He didn't want this guy to think it was all his fault. He could have looked up too.

"But it wasn't my fault." Percy pointed out. What did this boy think he was playing at? Jason slowly stepped away to join Piper and the others that were joining them.

"You could have looked up too. Can we please just drop this and pretend it never happened? Please?" Percy could hear the strain in the other boy's voice. It was obvious he was sorry, but he wanted more than to just forget about it. Percy sighed.

"Fine. I'm Percy Jackson. Nice to meet ya." Percy tried his best to sound sincere, but it was just a lost cause. Nico nodded and held out his hand. What was it with these people and shaking hands?

"Nico di Angelo. Let's go join everyone else now." Percy nodded and walked over to the shady oak tree.

"What's up with your group hanging with my group anyway?" Percy questioned. Nico just shook his head and motioned to Jason. Said boy was beaming down at everyone. Piper went and sat down next to Annabeth, and they soon fell into conversation. Reyna sat down with them just listening. She had missed the first week of school, still on vacation in the Caribbean. Nico sat down next to Jason who was talking with Grover about their football team. Percy was talking to Leo and Frank about joining the football team.

"If you guys had a swimming team I would join that, but since you don't, I guess football will have to work." Percy shrugged. Frank raised his eyebrows and Leo laughed. Leo had become good friends with him pretty quickly, which made Frank worry. Leo was pretty gullible, and he didn't want anyone taking advantage of him. But Percy seemed like a good guy.

"Leo, are you on any team?" Percy asked innocently. Frank let out a loud laugh that mad everyone turned around. Noticing everyone looking at him, he immediately shut up and hid his face in his knees. Leo patted him on the back. Percy smiled at the two.

"The answer is no. I am a stick. It is impossible to get me to do anything of the athletic nature. I will crumble up and die if exposed to the sun for too long." Leo explained, his hand still resting on Frank's back. Percy turned back around and saw Octavian missing, he excused himself and went over to the girls.

"Hello ladies. Oh, I'm Percy, nice to meet you two," he nodded towards the two girls he did not know. They introduced themselves as Piper and Reyna.

"Where's Octavian?" Percy sat down and crossed his legs, like all the girls did. Rachel and Annabeth looked at each other before nodding and turning around.

"He's on another date." Rachel said proudly. Piper turned to Annabeth, who nodded. Reyna looked very confused.

"He's on a date? With who?" She questioned, but the duo just shook their heads. Annabeth put her finger up to her lip. It was kinda of childish, but Piper laughed, making her blush.

"He skipped studying for a date? Must be serious, that guy is a total nerd." Percy untucked his legs and laid on his stomach. Rachel tsked at him. Annabeth glared.

"He's serious about this guy." Annabeth turned to Rachel immediately. She simply stared until she noticed what she had said. She opened her mouth and clapped her hand over it, as if that would make it go away. Piper and Reyna's jaws dropped.

"He's- he's g-g-" Reyna started, but couldn't seem to finish due to her state of shock, so Piper helped her.

"Gay!" She practically screamed, making everyone look at her. She took it better than Frank, just flipping her hand to make people go away. She stared at Annabeth, who nodded reluctantly.

"None of you can say anything, okay? He's really nervous about it as it is, having the entire school know will just cause him to go into a coma." Annabeth looked at everyone. They all nodded, Reyna was still in a slight stupor. She had known Octavian for how long, how did she not notice? It all made sense now.

"But know I have to figure out who it is," Piper declared. Annabeth started shaking her head madly, but Piper put her hand up, immediately stopping her. "I won't tell anyone, I'll just snoop around a bit. I know you aren't gonna tell me. You're too good of a friend." Annabeth blushed brightly. It seemed like Percy was the only one that noticed this, and he gave a light smile.

Percy left the girls to their plotting; instead he joined Grover and Jason. And regrettably Nico. He would have said the boy was cute if he wasn't so rude. He sat down next to Grover.

"Hey Perce. Jason apparently needs the gardening club to decorate the outside of the football field! Isn't that great!" The look of excitement on Grover and Junipers face leaked onto his own.

"That's great! Hey Jase, if I wanna try out for the football team, where do I sign up? Do I ask Luke or…" Jason's smile grew twice the size. He reached out and hugged the green eyed boy. Percy laughed, Jason wasn't usually this excited about anything. He could see Nico roll his eyes, then give a little smile.

"Hey Nico, are you on the football team?" Percy tried to start a conversation. Nico scoffed lightly, Jason rolled his eyes. They had obviously had this conversation before.

"The only position I could play would be the ball." They all laughed. Sensing that this was a masculine conversation, Juniper got up to join the girls. Nico simply shrugged his shoulders. He was pretty small, and very thin. Like he was underfed. It worried Percy a bit. He naturally worried about people, no matter if they were assholes or not.

Then Octavian ran up to the group of boys, he sat down and caught his breathe. He laid down on his stomach and propped his head up on his elbows.

"So how was your date?" Percy sang. His elbows fell out from under him, his face hitting the dirt. His eyes widened in fear. How much did he know?

"How d-did you know?" He barely managed. Percy gave a small laugh. Nico, who was right next to the boy on the ground, wiped the dirt off his face. Octavian muttered a thanks and looked back to Percy.

"You just told me. You come over here with a goofy expression on your face, and I ask you about your date. You could have said you didn't go on a date, but instead you ask how did you know. Which proves that you went on a date." Percy explained proudly. Octavian scratched his head.

"Pretty smart, damn you." Octavian mumbled into the dirt. Nico sighed. Percy laughed. He poked the boy's head.

"Who are you dating?" Jason asked. Octavian shook his head, obviously not ready to answer that question. Jason huffed.

"Fine, but how was your date?" Grover tried. Octavian picked himself off the ground and crossed his legs. Nico immediately started cleaning off his face and his clothes.

"It was great, we just studied together. Then we went and got drinks at a coffee shop. Nothing happened. That was all. It was fun, nothing more." Percy could tell he was holding back some major details. Or he was completely lying. Probably lying.

"Didja kiss?" Percy asked the real questions. Octavian's face went red all over again.

"That's a yes! Octavian is getting some!" Jason called. The boy covered his face again. Nico was still trying to clean off his shirt. Octavian swatted his hand away. The younger boy rolled his eyes.

"What about you Perce, see anyone you like?" Grover nudged him. Percy thought about it. The only girl he really found attractive was a lesbian. He didn't see any really hot guys that were in his league. He could call Nico cute, but he was not an option. He would never be an option. So he shook his head. Grover shrugged his shoulders. He had his amazing girlfriend that he was head over heels in love with. Lucky duck.

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Octavian's lucky to have such nice friends, not. Pernico made up, kinda. It gets better, I swear. Review and stuff if you wanna. Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

Silena was ridiculous. She would not calm down. Charles had tried to get her to sit down and cuddle, but she just kept pacing. It was going to drive him nuts. Finally she stopped. He looked up from his book at her. She snapped her fingers, grabbed her purse and ran towards the door. She left him at her house. Alone. She was nuts. Good thing he was an amazing boyfriend. He locked all the doors before following her out.

"You don't have to come. I'm on a mission." She said as he caught up with her. He rolled his eyes fondly.

"That's exactly why I have to come." She turned and gave him a peck on the lips, before getting into the passenger side.

"But you have to drive." She smirked through the window. He rounded the car and sat in the driver's seat.

"My pleasure." He pulled out and followed his girlfriend's instructions. Positive this was not going to end well, for someone. May it be them or whoever Silena was stalking.

Octavian had planned this date. Luke had planned the last one, so this time it was his turn. And he had to top his. He was just that competitive. He planned an entire picnic, cooked an entire meal, and bought tickets to a movie that he and Luke both really wanted to see. He had this all in the bag.

So when Luke walked up, his jaw dropped to the floor. Not only was the food looking delicious, Tavvy looked even better. He had grey wife beater and cargo shorts, showing a lot more skin than he usually did. His hair was ruffled up, but it looked completely natural. If not dressing up made him look this good, he really wanted to see him dress to the nines. That would be fantastic.

As Luke sat down on the blanket, he noticed the smirk on his boyfriends face. Boyfriend. He could get used to that. He gave him a smile. Tavvy's smile completely faded into a look of defeat.

"What?" What had Luke done wrong? He had only just got here. Octavian crossed his arms and pouted.

"You don't like it. I spent all day cooking and you don't even like it." He fell backwards into the grass in defeat. Luke looked around at the food surrounding him. It looked so professionally made he thought it was store bought. Tavvy made all of this? For him?

"Oh my god. You made all of this? It looks delicious, I though you bought it! I didn't know you can cook! Look at all of this, it looks fantastic!" He pulled the pouting boy over and pressed a kiss on his forehead. Which made his face go beet red. Luke laughed and placed an arm around the boys waist. It was the closest they had gotten. Octavian rested his head on Luke's shoulder.

They both fell into easy conversation and nibbled on the food. Tavvy ate a bunch of it while he was making it so he wasn't all that hungry. Luke never stopped complimenting it. It wasn't until they heard a shriek they knew anyone was watching them. They both immediately stood and turned around. Standing there was Silena, jumping up and down, and Beckendorf with his head in his hands.

Octavian looked back and forth between his boyfriend and the girl, and Luke just stared her down. Finally Silena stopped fangirling and went up to Octavian.

"You are so cute! No wonder Luke likes you! Oh, did you make this entire picnic? How sweet! Charlie just look at this! You two are perfect for each other! Oh my gods! I'm so happy! I told you I would figure it out Luke, you should never doubt me." Silena grabbed Octavian's hands and started jumping up and down again. He was so very, very confused. He ended up staring at his boyfriend for help. Luke sighed.

"I accidentally told her I was dating a guy and she decided she would figure out who. So she did. Because she can find out anything about anyone. But please don't tell everyone, you know how I feel about this." He pleaded. Octavian cocked his head. Why would Luke try and hide him? Probably because he was an underclassman and a total nerd. And a guy, that would make a lot of enemies.

"Luke loves you too much to let everyone else know about you, he's being stupid. He doesn't want people to not like you because you're dating him. All of the girls in the school would try and murder you. He's never had a serious relationship before and he doesn't wa-" she was interrupted by Luke charging over and putting his arm around Tavvy's waist.

"I think that's enough for now. Can you please go now; we were kind of on a date." He sighed. Octavian nodded slowly. Silena eagerly nodded but pulled out her phone and took a quick picture.

"What was that for?" Charles questioned. His girlfriend came up beside him and he naturally put an arm around her.

"Blackmail." He chuckled, his girlfriend was truly one of a kind.

After the film, Octavian had to go and meet up with his friends. They kissed good bye at the edge of the park, and Tavvy ran off. He sighed. He wanted to go and be with him, but that just wouldn't work out. Stupid people and their judgment.

He got back in his car and drove over to the Stoll's house. Their house had a basketball court that he always used. They were never home, but their mother loved him. Everyone did. They wouldn't if they actually knew him.

After about an hour of shooting, Ms. Stoll brought him out a lemonade. They chatted for while about school and football. Then he went to go see Chris. Clarisse was probably at the dojo, so he would be alone. Not that Luke didn't like her, he just wanted to be with his friend. No girlfriends allowed.

As he suspected, he was at the stupid playground at their old school. He always came there. When they were younger they would meet there after school, it was where they originally met. They both had an emotional attachment to it, but Chris more so.

"Aren't you a little old for playgrounds?" Luke asked, before climbing up to the top and sliding down the curly slide. Chris laughed before getting up and giving Luke a hug. Luke's smile turned into a frown half way through. He knew what he had to say, he just didn't know how to say it.

"I want to tell you something before everyone else does. Because you're my best friend. And Silena is a ninja," Chris cocked his head to the side, but nodded. Luke inhaled deeply.

"You know I'm dating a guy, Clarisse figured that out. The Stoll's, Silena, and Beckendorf know who I'm dating. I just wanted to tell you before they do. I'm just afraid because he's been bullied before that if everyone found out he would get hurt. I care for him too much to let him get hurt," Chris nodded. "I'm dating Octavian Simmons. He's a grade below us, kind of nerdy, but he's sweet and amazing and I don't know but I really care about him okay?"

Everything felt so rushed, but he was glad that he admitted it all. Chris laughed and pulled him into a hug.

"If I didn't know better I would say you love the guy." Luke pulled away, his face completely flushed, making Chris laugh even harder. That's what best friends were for, shoulders. Whether it meant to cry on, laugh on or just mope on.

Percy was glad that their little group meeting was over. He couldn't get any more details out of Octavian with everyone else there. Rachel and Annabeth had a mini party, and Piper was still intent on figuring out who it was.

But besides Octavian's love life, nothing was very interesting. Grover was super excited about the football field gardening project. He and Juniper would not stop gushing over it. It was great for them, but boring for Percy. Jason kept talking about the tryouts with Frank. Leo listened in too, he was just as bored as Percy. But he was also dead tired, which Percy was not.

He went back to talk to Piper and Annabeth. They were talking about who was dating who. Everyone knew about Bianca and Thalia, Clarisse and Chris, Silena and Beckendorf. Nothing there was interesting. Not until they mentioned Luke.

"He's still single. It's ridiculous, he can pick up anyone he wants, and he's singe!" Reyna complained. They all nodded, but Percy was the only one that noticed that Octavian turned his head when he heard the name Luke. So that was his secret. Percy was going to be a good friend and ignore that. If Piper wanted to figure it out, she would have to up her game.

"Maybe he's not into an actual relationship. He might just want a quick shag and done. Who knows, he might just use his looks to his advantage." Percy added. Octavian's smile turned into a frown. He caught Percy's eye, who raised his eyebrows. The blonde's eyes turned into saucers. Percy laughed, which turned into a fake cough. He winked at the boy who let out a sigh of relief.

"I really don't care, as long as he stays away from me. Players really aren't my thing." Rachel declared. She looked straight at Annabeth, who nodded. They knew too. Poor Octavian. Piper rolled back into the grass, followed by Reyna and Annabeth. Rachel rolled her eyes at the girls. Percy laughed a little.

Percy laid back too. Staring up at the sun leaking through the leaves of the tree, he reflected on his situation. Everything was fine for now, he cleared things up with Nico. Kind of. He had plenty of friends, and the only trouble he had gotten in was being tardy, which everyone did. This year was starting off well for him. He wanted to stay here for a long time.

* * *

Pernico kind of made up, and OctaLuke just can't keep a secret. But to be fair, Silena is basically a ninja. Review if you wanna, thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

After a hard workout, all Frank wanted was a shower. He could barely climb the steps up to his grandmother front porch, and she basically laughed at him as he crawled through the living room. She yelled something at him but his headphones were blasting music way too loud for him to hear her. He went into the bathroom and noticed the fan was on. Strange. Leo must have forgotten to turn it off.

He went over and grabbed the shower curtain, pulling it back. What was behind it scared the living crap out of him. There Leo stood, very much naked. Frank momentarily froze. He pulled his headphones out and just stared at Leo. He had to will his eyes to stay on the boy's face. Leo's entire face was the reddest red imaginable, if it was possible, he would have caught on fire by now.

Frank tried to say something, but he ended up just rushing out of the room, leaving a very confused Leo. He turned off the water and dried himself off. Of course he left his clothes in their room, he hadn't expected Frank to come home so early. Leo calmed himself a little bit before wrapping the towel around his waist and exiting the bathroom.

"I'm really sorry Leo, I had my headphones in and didn't hear the shower running." Frank had his hand together like he was praying. Leo raised his eyebrow.

"Dude, it's fine. It's not like you don't have one." Leo laughed a little. Frank was still too in shock. He put his hand on Frank's shoulder, then went off to their shared bedroom. He came out in his PJ's, even though it was only five. It wasn't uncommon for the boy to do that. He hated doing any work in actual clothes, he thought sleep wear was much more practical. Frank just thought he was weird.

Frank went into the room and fell onto his bed. He would never get that image out of his head. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to or not.

Why had she invited Percy with her? Right, Annabeth didn't want to be alone with Piper. But why Percy? She could have picked someone that actually liked something she liked. But no, he asked to tag along and Piper agreed. Why did she have to be so nice?

They all were going to see a movie. Octavian recommended it, it was apparently fantastic. She wasn't even sure if he watched the movie, he might have been making out with Luke the entire time. He probably watched it, a normal teenager would have made out with their incredibly hot boyfriend, but not Octavian. Even Annabeth would admit that Luke was very attractive. She was proud of her friend. And still very confused.

She sat in the middle of Piper and Percy. It was apparently kind of a romantic movie. Without any warning, Piper grabbed her hand. She looked at the girl, but she kept staring straight forward at the film. Very smooth. She didn't let go, why would she. Percy noticed their exchange. He got up and left. He didn't want to ruin their date. Maybe he was a better friend than she gave him credit for.

When the movie ended, Piper looked down at her hand. She was holding hands with Annabeth. When did she start doing that? She accidentally flirted with her. Gods, she was good. Annabeth didn't break it off, so they exited the theatre together, still hand in hand. Piper didn't question were Percy was, he wasn't important.

"What's going on?" Piper finally asked Annabeth, letting go of her hand. She immediately regretted that. It felt nice.

"You grabbed my hand during the movie? I don't know, I'm sorry?" Annabeth apologized. Hadn't Piper grabbed her hand?

"No, you're fine. Perfect, really. I have no idea what I'm doing. So I'm just going to admit some things right here, right now. I'm a lesbian. I have a lesbian crush on you. I'm sorry if this ruins our friendship." Piper explained. Annabeth started laughing.

"You think this will ruin our friendship? I'm a lesbian too, and I like you, Piper." Annabeth smirked. Piper looked very lost, until a smile graced her face. Annabeth leaned forward, and lightly pushed her lips up against the Native Americans. She smiled into the kiss. They heard a few wolf whistles, but they ignored them. They were too lost in each other.

Percy saw them from across the room. He smiled and walked out the door. He decided to go for a walk around the city. It was quite peaceful really. After living in the city his entire life, he had eventually just blocked out the street noise. It was always fun to listen to snippets of peoples conversations. Trying to figure out what they were talking about, or who they were talking to.

It was all fine until he heard a shout from the ally. Sure, it wasn't uncommon for people to go down the ally's, but this was a shout of pain. He turned and sprinted down. He saw a boy on the ground, and two older teens on either side of him. They were mercilessly kicking him, yelling insults like 'faggot' and 'prick'. This one hit too close to home for Percy. He cleared his throat and watched the two turn around.

They both laughed at first. A single boy taking on the both of them. They looked big, but Percy was Percy. With a single move one boy was one the ground, cringing. The other clenched his teeth. Percy poked both of his eyes then quickly kicked him in the balls. Both boys lay in a pile on the ground. Percy rushed over to the boy. His dark hair was hanging over his eyes. Percy lifted his chin up only to see a familiar face.

"Nico?" Percy gasped. The boy looked just as shocked as Percy did. Percy stood up and held out a hand to the injured boy. He got up with much difficulty, and groaning. Percy put his arm under the boy. He could probably single handedly carry him, he was so light. That was even more concerning.

They walked through the busy sidewalks, barely getting any weird looks. It was New York, this kind of stuff was expected. They got back to Percy's car. Nico laid sprawled out in the back seat. He assured Percy he only had a few bruises, not like Percy believed him. But he was not taking him to the hospital. Nico mumbled his address, but Percy immediately started heading home. They didn't take enough care of Nico there if he was that underweight. He only trusted his mother to deal with this.

They got back to his apartment quickly. Nico didn't complain much. He was very grateful for the elevator. When they got into the apartment, Sally gasped and ran towards the boy. Helping him to the couch, she asked no questions. Percy had to admit, his mom was awesome. She grabbed multiple bags of ice, and peeled Nico's shirt off. He was too tired to care anymore.

"Who is he?" She asked when he had finally fallen asleep. He didn't have any major problems, nothing broken. He would have a bunch of bruises for a while, but that was better than internal bleeding.

"Nico di Angelo. He goes to my school. Found him in an ally getting beaten up." She nodded. Her son was amazing, saving people left and right. No matter what it meant for him. She couldn't be more proud.

"He's underweight. Is that why you didn't bring him home?" Percy nodded and fell back onto the chair he was sitting in.

"And his family is rich. They just don't care. He has plenty of friends, too. They don't notice. Or are too wrapped up in their lives to care." He crossed his arms angrily. Sally got up and placed a kiss on her son's head.

"I'm going to the store. When he wakes up, explain whatever happened and take him home. Or don't. He can stay." She smiled, grabbed her keys and walked out the door.

Now all he had to do was wait. He stared at the boy. Not stared, studied. This studying made him realize many things, too many things. Nico was truly the most adorable thing on the face of the earth. His face was so serene, even though he had just gotten beaten up in an ally. His hands kept reaching out to grab something. Percy sighed and sat next to the boy carefully. Nico grabbed his arm and let his head rest on the strong shoulder.

Percy shouldn't have enjoyed it, but he did. Way too much. It was just too peaceful. He fell asleep way too soon. They both sat on the coach asleep, lost in dreams about each other. Not that they would ever admit that.

* * *

Finally some Pernico in this story, not that I regret the amount of OctaLuke I have. Pernico will have more appearances and stuffs as I keep writing, and all of my other ships of course, but more Pernico than anything. Review and such if you wanna. Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

When Nico woke up, he was very much in pain. Everything hurt, but it was more of a dull, aching pain. Not excruciating. That was good. Well, no pain was better, but you get what you get. Then he noticed his head was not laying on a pillow. Well, you could call Percy a pillow, he just probably would get angry. Nico tried to pick his head up, but that hurt too much. Instead he studied his surroundings.

He was in a small apartment. There was a lot of blue decorations, various vases and fish tank. A small TV sat in the corner, directly across from the couch. It most definitely was not his house. He had a lot of rooms, but none of them looked like this. It was quite cute and cozy. Must be Percy's house.

What was he doing at Percy's house? He had fallen asleep next to Percy, and everything hurt. Very dirty thoughts went through his head. He tried to shake it, but again, it hurt too much. He was getting a migraine. He heard a moan from the boy next to him. Percy tried to move, but didn't want to disturb Nico.

"Nico, you awake?" Percy asked cautiously. Nico mumbled something, nothing even close to coherent. He really didn't want to talk to him. He had no idea what had happened or how he got here. The last thing he remembered was walking down the street.

"You remember anything?" Percy gently put his arm around the younger boy. Why was he being so nice? Had he kidnapped him? Nico slowly shook his head, and Percy gave a sigh.

"I found you in an ally, getting the shit beaten out of you. I scared the guys off and brought you back to my place," Percy explained slowly. Nico nodded slowly, that made sense. It wasn't the first time he had been beaten up. They both sat in silence, Nico snuggling up to Percy. Percy's face grew increasingly red. He hated this boy, but how could he be so cute? He looked tired and lost.

"Can you take me home? My mom's probably worried." Nico mumbled into the junior's shoulder. Percy sighed, could he really let him go home? His mom said he could stay.

"You aren't going home," Nico raised his head to look at Percy, whose sea green eyes stared right into his dark ones. "I don't want you traveling in your condition. You can call and tell her you're okay, but you aren't leaving. My mom's okay with it. I can bring you to school tomorrow, it'll be fine."

Nico nodded slowly. It was probably better he stayed here. Bianca would have a heart attack, which would make Thalia worry. Hazel would be all over him, and Jason would yell at him. Percy wouldn't tell anyone about this, he wasn't like that. Percy gave his shoulder a squeeze, eliciting a moan from the boy. He really hurt everywhere, Percy gave an apologetic smile.

After fifteen minutes of watching TV, Nico got up to use the phone. He groaned into every step. His mother was frantic. He explained he was just staying over with a friend, and she started yelling. Percy could barely keep himself from chuckling, clapping a hand over his mouth. Nico glared at him, successfully making him fall backwards on the couch.

After she stopped yelling and finally hung up after checking twenty times that he was okay, he went over to the couch and fell onto it face first. Percy tussled his hair, which Nico immediately fixed. Slowly the boy sat up next to Percy.

"Why did you save me?" Nico didn't take his eyes off the TV, Percy could hear the hurt in his voice.

"It's happened to me too, getting beaten up because of my sexuality. That's how I got kicked out of most of my schools. I protected someone else or myself, and got kicked out because of it. It's just what I do. I'm a guardian angel," Percy joked. A light smile appeared on Nico's face. He was so cute it was criminal, Percy really needed to stop these thoughts.

"Thanks. For everything. And I'm sorry for running into you that one day. It was my fault." Nico let out a sigh. Percy thought it would feel a lot better, but he just felt like a dick. It was both of their faults, like Nico had said. Why did the boy have to be so smart?

"You were right, I could have looked up too. I'm just an asshole, and I was having a bad day already." Percy laid his head back on the couch. Nico laughed a little.

"Yeah, after seeing you with all of your friends, you don't seem like the guy I ran into in the hallway," Nico stood up again. "Where's the bathroom?" Percy pointed him in the right direction.

This was probably a bad idea. Having Nico di Angelo staying over at his house. He barely knew the boy, but he seemed nice. And now that they cleared up everything, this could actually be pretty fun. He heard the door open, and saw Paul walk in. He put his bag by the door and walked into the living room.

"Hey Perce, how was your day?" Paul was always nice to Percy, even though he knew he was a trouble maker. But it was never in his class. He put some papers down on the table.

"Great." Percy got up to make some sandwiches. He grabbed three plates, making Paul raise his eyebrows.

"Is your mom joining us? She said she was going shopping." As if on cue, Nico walked out of the bathroom. He saw his teacher and stopped.

"Mr. Blofis?" He looked at Percy, who gave him a small smile. Paul gave a little wave, and raised his eyebrows.

"At school I'm Mr. Blofis, but here it's just Paul. If you are wondering why I'm here, I'm dating Percy's mother. So don't be alarmed." Paul explained with a little laugh, and went back to the papers he was grading.

Nico raised his eyebrows, then went back to lie down on the couch. Percy shook his head. He made two turkey sandwiches for Nico and himself, and chicken sandwich for Paul. He knew how much Paul loved chicken. He slid a sandwich over to Paul, who just nodded, too wrapped up in an essay. He brought one over to Nico, and sat down next to him. They ate in silence, watching the news.

After they both finished, Nico got up to throw away his plate, but Percy stole it and pushed him back down onto the couch. Nico rolled his eyes. Was he not allowed to do anything here? There was hospitality, and then there was Percy. When Percy got back, he sat a little closer to him. He probably didn't mean too, but the proximity was a bit frightening. Now that he knew that he was gay, was he teasing him? But he said he had gotten made fun of too, did that mean he was gay? This was all too confusing.

Percy started talking about football, which Nico knew very little about. Jason never shut up about it, but he mostly ignored him. Frank had started talking to him about it, so that he was relieved from his duty. Apparently Percy was going to try out, but it wasn't his first choice.

"You don't have a swim team, which sucks. I love swimming." Percy pouted. Nico cocked his head, trying to remember if they had ever had a swim team. He couldn't recall.

"I don't know if we even have a pool," Nico said. Percy rolled his eyes. This school sucked worse than he had thought.

"Paul! Does our school have a pool?" He yelled into the kitchen. Paul looked around then just shouted back.

"Nope!" He went back to his work immediately. Nico gave a small laugh and Percy rolled his eyes. Nico started talking about what had happened the year before, with all of the homosexual couples.

"The seniors last year were evil. If they even thought you were gay or lesbian you would have your face taped up all over the school. Bianca and Thalia got hit pretty hard. Bianca skipped school for an entire week. It was horrible. But this year has been a whole lot better already. Especially since the rumors about Luke going around." Percy's ears perked up.

"Luke? What about him?" Percy sat straight up attentively. Nico cocked his head to the side jovially.

"You didn't hear? Everyone thinks he's gay. He's been acting off lately, not flirting with all of the girls, keeping to himself. He's been caught sneaking off during lunch multiple times. They think he's seeing a guy and doesn't want anyone to know about it." Percy remembered Octavian skipping lunch multiple times last week. So that's where he was going. He smiled.

"That's great. If Luke is, then everyone will be okay with it. Everyone loves Luke, right?" Nico nodded, smiling a little. "Have you told anyone?"

"About what?" Nico asked innocently. Percy rolled his eyes, he didn't want to spell it out for him.

"You know, like, come out. Of the closet." Nico looked away and shook his head. Percy wasn't surprised. He didn't seem like the kind of person to be upfront about anything. He lightly placed his arm around his shoulder, learning from last time. Nico smiled sadly. It couldn't be that hard, his mom accepted Bianca right. Or maybe she didn't. That could be the reason.

Nico walked into school the next day with a few good bruises. Everyone asked him about it, but he shrugged it off. People usually ignored him, but as soon as something happens, he's the most popular kid in school. Luke would be so upset if he knew.

A bunch of girls came over during first period and started ogling over him. It would have been great if he actually liked girls. Of course, the gay guy gets all the girls. Why did the world hate him so? At lunch Jason tried to get him to talk, but he just ignored him. Hazel didn't ask any questions, she was the perfect sister. Bianca still almost had a heart attack. Thalia promised to kill whoever did it, knowing it wasn't an accident immediately.

But Piper wasn't at lunch. Well, she was there, just at the wrong table. She and Percy had an exchange program. She got to sit with Annabeth and Percy got to sit with Leo. It worked out for the both of them. Of course, Frank sat next to Leo too. The two hadn't been talking as much, but they still went everywhere together. Something had happened that no one really knew about, and it seemed Leo didn't know about it either. He would try and talk to the older boy, but only get one word responses. Sure Frank was usually quite stoic, but this was a new level.

Nico sat next to Jason as always, but Jason looked pissed as hell. How could Nico not tell him? Whatever it was couldn't be bad enough for him not to say. If he had gotten beaten up, he would promise not to find them. He would probably break the promise, granted. He was Nico's self-appointed bodyguard. No matter what he was there. And what was Percy doing, talking to Nico like they were friends? They had a major fight yesterday, how did they fix it that quickly?

Nico and Percy were talking animatedly about some TV show. Nico was never this nice to someone he only just met. Did his bruises have something to do with Percy? Jason wasn't one to intrude, so he let them be. Where was Piper anyway? Oh, she was over there with… Annabeth? Why was she with her? His entire world was turning upside down. Might as well go with it.

* * *

Confused Jason is very confused. Look, it's Pernico! Which is supposed to be the main ship in this story, whoops. I get sidetracked easily. Review and stuffs if you want. Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

Two months later, everything was going great. No major problems arose within any of the groups. Octavian and Luke were still a secret, Silena had kept her word. Piper and Annabeth had gone on many dates, but hadn't told anyone they were dating. Leo and Frank kept being best friends, and Percy and Nico had grown closer after the incident. Everything was going to be perfect for football tryouts. For everyone except Octavian.

"You did what?" Octavian yelled at his boyfriend. Luke had his smirk on again, he grabbed Tavvy's hand.

"It's a great idea. We can be on the team together! Come on, this is gonna be great!" Luke squeezed his hand as the boy gave him the death glare.

"You signed me up and didn't ask me! I suck at football! What were you thinking? Obviously you weren't. I don't have any of the pads or equipment or anything. I hate you so much," Octavian shouted. Luke let go of his hand and raised his hands in defense.

"We both know that's a lie. Your stuff is right here, I already got it for you. And it's in your size. And I was thinking, actually. I was thinking how amazing it would be to have you on the team!" Luke's smile was so big Tavvy wanted to smile too, but he was too worried.

"If people find out about us, they'll think I only got on the team because we're dating. I don't want people to think that about me." He argued, Luke rolled his eyes.

"You'll do great. I'll only let you on if you actually do well. But you can't purposefully fail." He pointed at his boyfriend. Octavian laughed.

"I would never purposefully fail. Just you wait, I'll beat everyone out there." He said proudly. Luke stepped forward and pulled him into a kiss. Tavvy placed his hand on the back of the taller boy's neck. It had become natural after a while. As they pulled away, the heard a clearing throat. Luke immediately turned around, shielding Tavvy from view. They were in the senior locker room, everyone else had left. But Octavian didn't have his shirt on. Luke didn't want anyone else to see him.

"Sorry to ruin your little make out session, but some people want to start. Octavian, what are you doing here? I thought football wasn't your thing." Percy asked and gave him a smile. Luke huffed.

"You can't tell anyone else. Promise." Luke narrowed his eyes at the dark haired boy, who simply waved him off.

"I knew already, I'm not that dumb. I'll tell 'em you're still getting ready. But hurry up, seriously." Percy walked out of the locker room. Octavian was already putting all of his stuff on. Luke sighed, did everyone know and they just weren't telling him? He started out the door, leaving Tavvy behind him. They couldn't leave together, people would make assumptions.

Tryouts lasted about three hours, by the end everyone was dead tired and ready to fall over. When Luke told them all they were dismissed, half of them fell onto the ground, the other half went over to the bleachers where their friends and families waited for them.

Frank wandered over to Leo, and laid down on the bleacher next to him. Putting his head in Leo's lap, he immediately fell asleep. Leo chuckled and slowly took the helmet off the boy. He was disgustingly sweaty, but after watching everything they did, Leo would be dead.

Percy was completely done with life. He wanted to die. He made his way over to Paul and sat between the bleachers. He took off the helmet and dropped it by his feet ungracefully. Paul laughed at him, and then started complimenting his performance. He knew he was going to make the team, he had too. It was his sure ticket to popularity and not getting kicked out.

Octavian felt pretty okay. He had tried his best and thought he did pretty well. He crawled up the stairs to where Rachel, Annabeth, and Piper were sitting. Piper was always with Annabeth nowadays. Rachel was giving him the death glare. Before he could even try and explain, Rachel started snapping at him.

"So you don't tell us you're going out for the team, then you go out and do amazing! Since when can you play football? You told us that you never wanted to play because you thought everyone would beat you up!" Octavian took off his helmet and sighed. His hair was soaked with sweat, he pushed it out of his eyes.

"I didn't sign up. Someone else signed me up. I never wanted too, but I was signed up and I'm not just going to skip it." Octavian explained. It was all Luke's fault, but Piper was there. Rachel rolled her eyes, obviously not believing him. Jason came up next to him and threw an arm around his shoulder.

"You did great! I didn't know you like football, this is gonna be a great year!" Octavian smiled as Jason walked over to some of his other teammates. Rachel pulled the boy down next to her, and started fixing his hair. It was really gross, but he had to do something with it.

After a few minutes, Luke came up with a bunch of papers and a big smile. He stood at the bottom of the bleachers, addressing everyone.

"Thank you all for coming and trying out! Result will be posted tomorrow during lunch, so come and check it out. Have a goodnight everyone!" He gave a big wave. He caught Tavvy's eye and winked before going back down the steps. Octavian rolled his eyes and followed behind him. Thankfully he wasn't the only one, Chris was there too. They all went into the locker rooms. Then he realized he was in the wrong locker rooms. He changed in the senior ones with Luke. He rushed in to grab his clothes before anyone really noticed.

"Hey, you did great today!" Beckendorf called. Octavian smiled and kept moving on. He just needed his clothes. And of course the Stoll's got there before him. Connor had all of his stuff in one hand, and Travis was looking through it.

"Excuse me, that's mine." Octavian said. The two brothers turned and looked at him, adopting cat like grins on their faces.

"Why was over here in the senior locker room? You're a junior." Connor asked innocently. Travis nodded eagerly. Tavvy rolled his eyes.

"I went into the wrong locker room, I'll take my stuff back to the junior one." He stepped forward and the Stoll's stepped back. Octavian sighed.

"Tavvy, it isn't that easy." Travis cooed. Connor hugged his clothes against his body. The blonde crossed his arms.

"What do I have to do?" He was already bored with this little tease. Travis was about to open his mouth again when a deeper voice interrupted.

"Just give him his stuff back, Trav." Luke said, scaring Octavian. He came out behind the brothers and patted them on the backs. Connor went forward and handed him the clothes. Octavian turned to exit. Travis snickered.

"Luke, your play thing can't even defend himself." Octavian stopped immediately and turned around.

"Oh really," He challenged. He took a few steps towards Travis. Travis crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Just look at you, you might have a pretty face but there isn't anything underneath there." Travis took a step forward too, threatening the boy with his height. Without any warning, Octavian punched him right in the nose. Hard. When the boy recovered and was about to throw a punch, the blonde kicked him right in the balls. The Stoll doubled over instantly, and then fell over. Octavian picked up the clothes he dropped and left the locker room, with a grin on his face.

Luke jumped over the boy on the floor and followed his boyfriend. He rounded the corner that led to the other locker rooms and saw him walking calmly down the hallway. He ran up to the other blonde and put a hand on his shoulder. Octavian turned around with a smile.

"I-I don't know what was with him he's usually so ni-" Tavvy put his hand up to silence him. Luke cocked his head, not understanding why he'd been interrupted.

"He was testing me, and I passed." He explained. Luke still had no idea what was going on, but when did he ever when it came to Tavvy. Luke grabbed his hand which looked a little bruised, and the boy immediately pulled it back.

"I'm fine, just go back to the rest of your team. Okay? I'll talk to you later." He looked around for anyone and then pressed a light kiss onto his forehead. Turning back around he went to his locker room to change. Luke shook his head, trying to comprehend what was going on. They were testing him? Why? He would ask them later, right now he was too pissed at Travis for saying those things about Tavvy. _His_ Tavvy.

Percy and Frank didn't even notice when Octavian walked in. They were too busy trying to get their bodies to move. Was putting on a shirt always this hard? They did however notice when Leo walked in, mostly because he was being loud.

"Perce! You did great, I can't believe how good you guys are. You'll make the team for sure! Did you see Octavian? He did absolutely amazing, it's surprising. He told me he didn't want to be on any sports team. I wonder why he changed his mind? Anyway, see you later Percy. I'm gonna wait in the car, it's getting a little chilly." Leo rambled on, Percy and Frank nodded in response. Leo basically skipped away, they both wished they could have some of his energy.

Nico walked in a little bit after Leo. Percy immediately stood up straighter and fixed his hair. This didn't go unnoticed by Frank, who would have laughed if it was physically possible.

"Hey. You guys did great. I'm sure you two will make it on the team, if you don't, Luke is an idiot. Jason says good job too. He won't shut up about you guys and Octavian. Tavvy really surprised everyone, signing up. Well, see you guys later." Nico walked out and Percy dropped down onto the bench. They got dressed and left in silence. The tryouts had gone surprisingly well, but all they wanted to do was sleep for the next forty eight hours.

* * *

Poor Tavvy, everyone did great at the tryouts. Why is Travis being so mean? Review if you wanna. Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

The next day at lunch was filled moans of despair and shouts of pure joy. All Nico wanted was for everyone to shut up. Great, you made it onto the stupid football team, now eat your lunch and shut up. He would have started yelling if Percy hadn't looked so freaking excited. The boy looked like his mother had brought him home a puppy. How could he shout at that face?

Leo was jumping up and down, waiting in line to look at the list. He was probably more excited than everyone else, and he didn't even try out. Frank looked anxious, and Octavian didn't even get up to check. He didn't care if he made it or not, even though he was almost positive he had gotten on.

While everyone was up checking the papers hung up on the wall, Travis went to sit down at his table. Everyone gasped at his arrival, his black eye looked dreadful. Luke didn't even look up, and Connor shook his head.

"What happened to you?" Clarisse asked. It was unlike Travis to get beat up, or beat someone up. He was a trickster, not a fighter.

"I got in a fight." He grinned, obviously proud of himself. Clarisse rolled her eyes, Beckendorf and Chris looked at each other. They both had no idea what had happened.

"I guessed that, did you win? That bruise looks real nasty." Clarisse inspected it more. Must have been a tough fight. Who did he piss off this time?

"I lost pretty badly, but I'm kind of glad." Travis dove into his lunch, obviously not going to answer any more questions. Luke looked across the room at Octavian, who was still sitting at his usual table. Was he ever going to go and check the board?

Leo finally got to the board. He went into serious mode, dragging his finger along the paper until he got to the two names he was looking for. He reread it twice before turning to his two best friend.

"You're in!" He shouted, hugging them both. Percy looked over Leo and went through the list one more time, seeing who else made it. He saw Octavian's name too. Of course he made it. That boy was the best by a long shot, somehow. He said he absolutely hated football, that it was a stupid game.

Frank gave Percy a high five and went back to their table. After several pats on the back and whoops of joy (mostly from Jason), everyone settled down enough to eat lunch. There were multiple retelling of what happened, most of them completely outrageous. Frank saving a ball, becoming a hero and Percy basically being a god. But it was even worse what they were saying about Octavian.

When everyone finally sat back down, Octavian got up to look. He wasn't surprised to see his name, but it did make him a bit happy. Luke saw that he finally went up to check and got up himself. He snuck up behind Tavvy, looking right over his shoulder.

"Would ya look at that, someone made it on the team." Octavian jumped a little bit, eliciting a laugh from the senior.

"Don't you think someone will be suspicious if you start talking to me now?" Tavvy whispered, Luke shook his head.

"You're my new best player, it's only logical I would want to talk to you in private. Where did you learn to play like that?" Luke asked sincerely. The other boy rolled his eyes.

"I watched every game last year, and I do have some friends. I've played catch before. I know how to catch and throw a football. It's not that hard, especially when you have people on the inside." He smiled. Luke gave a big smile too, throwing an arm around him. Tavvy just laughed.

Silena's heart practically melted watching the two of them. Luke acting so naturally around someone was enough to make her want to squeal. She got up to go join them, they would blow their cover if they kept this up. She was such a good friend, she deserved an award. And she had some questions.

Silena tapped Luke on the shoulder, startling him. "You two might as well just kiss now, everyone's gonna figure it out," she whispered. Octavian immediately shrugged Luke off of him.

"I told you, you should listen to me more often. Oh, hey Silena. Do you need something?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm your friend, I can talk to you for no reason, right?"

Octavian blushed. Not only was he dating the most popular guy in school, he was apparently also friends with the most popular and beautiful girl. How did he deserve any of this?

"Tavvy's not used to the whole 'friend' thing. You have to cut him some slack." Luke said with a dopey grin. Octavian whapped him upside the head.

"I have friends, I have plenty of friends. Rachel, Annabeth, Grover, and Juniper. I guess I can count Percy, I haven't known him that long…"

"You've known him two months, that's plenty long. I've had friends that I had only known hours," Luke pointed out. Silena laughed at the expression on Tavvy's face.

"Those aren't real friends! Friends are people you go and hang out with, know their families, their favorite food, favorite place to go, and trust you with secrets. That's friendship," he smiled over at his table. Rachel and Annabeth were having a heated argument with Piper. Probably about a new movie, that was what they usually argued about.

Luke laughed at his boyfriend. "Those are your best friends, not just normal friends. I know everything about Chris, but I don't know all that much about Thalia and Bianca. That's the difference between best friends and friends. Silena is now your friend, because, correct me if I'm wrong, she likes you." Silena nodded eagerly. "See, that's friendship."

Tavvy glared at him, obviously not liking being called wrong. "But what if there's someone you like, I mean like, fancy. Are they considered your friend if you aren't technically in a relationship?" He smiled victoriously. Luke set his jaw, and Silena looked like she was deeply contemplating his question.

"It depends on how you two are together," Silena concluded. "If it's a crush and other person doesn't like you back, then it's a friendship. But if you both like each other, and you just haven't got the nerve to date, then I would call that romantic interest." She added, and smiled at Tavvy, who rolled his eyes.

"I give up," he flung his hands in the air, making Luke chuckle. They continued to talk about people Tavvy was technically friends with, with the boy claiming he wasn't friends with any of them.

Back at the senior table, Chris watched the trio. It was weird to see Luke act normally, not all stuck up like had been the last few years. Being popular never was what he wanted, but it just happened. He wasn't sure about his best friend's new boyfriend yet. He was attractive, he could give him that, but he didn't know anything about him.

Travis was trying to catch Tavvy's eye. Glaring at the back of his head was not helping at all, until he turned around. He saw the Stoll raise an eyebrow at him, so he smiled back. Travis tried not to smile, but it was too infectious. A big grin appeared, and a thumbs up, which was quickly returned by the nerd. You could put that boy on the football team, give him the most handsome boy to date, and make him be friends with all the popular kids, and he would still be a nerd. Nothing was going to change that, ever.

Luke saw the exchange between the two. "What was that all about?" He nudged the blonde, who jumped.

"It was nothing, really." But Silena could see that it wasn't, then realization hit her. How could she be so daft not to realize it? The way Luke looked all lunch.

She gasped. "You beat up Trav!" Octavian looked away, but that was an obvious yes. Silena cocked her head to the side with a frown. "Why would you beat him up? And why was he glad he lost?"

Tavvy sighed. "He said some choice things, testing me. How resilient I was, how much torment I would put up with. He's been teasing me for a while, but he finally said something that set me off. So I lashed out at him. I had good reason, and I think he's done with the whole being mean to me thing now. I gotta go and eat before they steal all of my food, see you later," he rushed back to his table, not wanting to answer any more questions.

It made sense now, it did. He had seen Travis and Tavvy together in the hallway, Tavvy looking upset. He didn't want to overstep his boundaries while their relationship was still young, so he ignored it. Was this a good thing? They were just looking out for him, making sure Tavvy was good. Did they not trust him to pick someone who was good for him? He went back to his table, leaving Silena at the board.

He sat down, ignoring all the questions. He turned to Travis. "You didn't have to test him, if I like him then that's good enough. You should trust me more."

Travis shrugged his shoulders. "I was just looking out for you, okay. He's a good kid." He shoveled his turkey sandwich into his face. No one talked for a while, just contemplating what was going on, which Luke was thankful for. He knew the questions would be soon anyway.

"So, that's him?" Thalia finally asked, not unexpectedly. Luke nodded, and the entire table turned to look at the junior.

Luke waved his hands frantically. "Could you be any more obvious? Turn back around! Everyone will notice!" He was trying to keep his voice down, but failed, attracting even more attention from neighboring tables. But they were used to it.

"He's… cute? I don't know about him, but he's on the football team right? What's his name? It sound like octopus or something." Clarisse asked, Chris and Beckendorf laughed.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Yes, he's on the football team. He was the best player that showed up. His name is Octavian. If you call him octopus he will probably get mad. Maybe not, I don't know, his reactions always confuse me. I sign him up for the football tryouts, he gets pissed. I forget to bring something I bought him to a date, he's super happy." Bianca laughed. "It's true! He said he didn't want anything, but not to return it, he went out and bought me something."

Beckendorf leaned over the table. "I wanna hear more about octopus," Luke practically snarled at the nickname. "Well what do you want us to call him, we can't say his real name, people with catch on."

Everyone sat and thought for a while. They couldn't use Tavvy, everyone called him that, behind his back of course. Octopus was horrendous. None of them knew anything about the boy to think of something. Silena got a gleam in her eye, which made Luke very afraid. She excused herself and made her way over to Octavian's table. But instead of talking to the boy, she grabbed Rachel and brought her back over to their table.

"You know Octavian better than all of us. We need a nickname for him so no one knows who we are talking about. Do you have any ideas?" Silena asked kindly. Rachel thought for a moment, before laughing.

"He has an obsession with teddy bears. He has about a million of them, there's a long story behind it. But you didn't hear it from me, got it?" All of the seniors nodded obediently. When the red head made her way back to her table, everyone burst out into laughter, even Luke.

Bianca caught her breathe first. "So we have to call him Teddy Bear? This is gonna be great." Thalia put an arm around her girlfriend, still trying to catch her breathe.

"I don't know what's better, that or octopus," Beckendorf questioned, making everyone laugh even more. Luke looked over at his boyfriend. Poor Tavvy, he would never know they were laughing at him.

* * *

I'm so mean to Tavvy, but he can take it. Football practice is starting up soon, and now they all know about OctaLuke. Good job at keeping secrets guys. Trav just cares about Luke, and they're cool now. Review if you wanna, or not. Thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

"Even if I did like someone, why do you care, Jason?" Nico was beyond done with his best friend. The blonde had not left him alone for two hours, which was the exact amount of time they had been at the library, studying.

"Because as your best friend, it's my job to know who you like. So tell me." Jason hadn't done any of his homework, and Nico had almost finished his. He was probably going to use it as an excuse to get out of dinner with his mother.

Nico sighed and put down his pencil. "Okay, I like someone. That's all you are getting. That's it. No more questions." Jason looked excited and sad at the same time.

"You can't just tell me that and then say no more questions. I don't care who it is, if it's Thalia or Frank or anyone, really!" Jason waved his hands enthusiastically, and was talking way louder than what was allowed in a library. Nico almost gagged when he mentioned Thalia, she was dating his sister. And a girl.

"What if I told you it wasn't a girl," he cringed a bit, waiting for the blonde's answer. Jason didn't even flinch.

He raised his eyebrows. "I didn't expect it to be. Wait, are you trying to admit that you're gay _now._" Nico had a dazed look on his face, but nodded.

Jason laughed, earning many shushes from other library guests. "Everyone's known this for a long time, Neeks. It isn't news to anyone. Now who do you like?"

Still very shocked, Nico continued. "Don't tell anyone," Jason rolled his eyes but nodded nonetheless "Percy Jackson."

Jason fell out of his chair, right onto the floor. He put his hand over his mouth to stop himself from cheering, which would probably get him kicked out of the library. Nico put his head on the table and covered his head with a book, silently praying that no one would notice his friend on the ground, or more importantly, him.

Smoothly, Jason picked himself up off the floor and put on a stoic expression. Nico had to admit he was actually impressed by how well his friend covered that up, until a smile leaked through. That was for the next hour and a half, Jason not talking but smiling like an idiot, and Nico red faced and embarrassed.

* * *

"I know you're lying, Perce. I know you too well," Grover pointed out as he and his best friend walked around the park that housed their favorite oak tree. Percy was absolutely done with Grover, and all of his stupid questions.

"If you know me so well, you also know I only lie because it's either unimportant or personal. And this is both," he glared at the other junior, who just rolled his eyes.

Grover stepped in front of Percy, stopping him. "I understand it being personal, but unimportant? I'm asking about who you like, that's pretty important, Perce." It was Percy's turn to roll his eyes.

"A little crush isn't that important," Percy said "he'll never like me anyway."

Grover grinned. "So it's a guy, that's a start. Do I know the guy?" They had arrived at the tree, but they were the first ones there.

"Yes, you know him. Are you done yet?" Percy was bored already, his ADHD kicking in. Homework now seemed better than having a stupid chat with his best friend, this was a bad sign.

"Not even close. So I know him, I'm gonna rule out Octavian," Percy cocked his head "you seem really supportive of his relationship. Not Jason, you don't seem very friendly with him."

Percy crossed his arms. "I can like someone and not be close to them, if it's just a crush it can be based off of looks alone," he pointed out.

"But you wouldn't do that, that's not you at all. So not Jason, who else have you been hanging out with?" Grover asked himself. Percy sat down and started his chemistry. When did they learn this?

"You've been hanging out with di Angelo, is it him." Grover leaned down to look at his friend, who momentarily stopped working. Percy hastily started scribbling all over his paper, trying to recover from his mistake, but it was too late.

"Nico di Angelo! What- How- I don't even want to know, do I? It's obvious he's gay, so that's not a problem, but do you think he likes you?" Grover recovered from shock quickly, and started with the questions again.

Percy groaned, falling backwards. "That's why you call it a crush, you don't know if they like you or not. And when they don't, they crush your heart," Percy explained, crushing his paper as a demonstration. Grover grabbed it and started to smooth it out.

"He might not like you Perce, but he'll learn too. You're you, everyone eventually falls in love with you." He leaned over to ruffled Percy's hair, but the boy evaded and stole his paper back. Grover rolled his eyes at his best friend, he could be so dense sometimes. Not realizing everyone around him loved him, that was just who he was. He wouldn't change Percy Jackson for anything, well, maybe a really good enchilada.

* * *

Nico was concerned. How many of his friends knew he was gay, and didn't ever mention it? Was it that obvious. He had to get some answers, and the best judges were always your family.

"Bianca, when did you realize that I was gay?" His older sister was shocked at his bluntness, but Thalia answered before her.

"When I met you and you immediately made fun of the way I dressed. Normal boys don't do that kind of stuff," she went back to her homework.

Bianca got up and stood in front of her little brother. "I'm glad you finally acknowledged it, it's a big step. But why are you asking me that question?"

"Everyone knows I'm gay, and I was wondering how they knew, when I didn't even know. It's frustrating because I never told anyone, but everyone knows. What do I do that makes me seem gay?"

Bianca pondered for a minute, probably figuring out the right phrasing. "You seem kind of feminine, but not all that feminine. Like, you care how you look and dress, which is really a good trait, but you also have never even looked at a girl before. You also seem, I don't know, it's just your aura."

"I have a gay aura," Nico stated plainly. Thalia started cracking up, almost falling out of her chair. Apparently it ran in the family.

"What brought this on, anyway? You like a boy and told someone?" Thalia guessed. Nico's jaw dropped, how did she do that? Was she telepathic?

Nico didn't look at either of them. "Yeah, I told Jason something and he said he always knew I was gay." Thalia was suddenly interested, and got up to stand next to her girlfriend.

"So who do you like?" Bianca asked kindly, Thalia nodding eagerly. Nico glared at the couple.

"I'm not going to tell you! I only told Jason because he wouldn't shut up," Nico sat down at the table, grabbing his book. Thalia was immediately on his left side, grabbing the book. Bianca stealthily sneaked up on the right.

They both had cat like grins. "But I'm your sister, I can do much worse than annoy you. I know all of your other secrets," Bianca grabbed his arm. Nico was shocked his sister would lower herself to blackmail, but also knew she was serious. He had a lot of secrets he would like to keep.

"Fine, fine. It's Percy Jackson, he's new this year. I stayed over at his house once, he's nice and kinda smart and funny. It's just a crush, he would never like me back anyway. That's it," he sighed, in defeat or sadness, he didn't know himself.

"He's not bad looking either, I would go as far as to say cute. Like a puppy. He made the football team. Is he gay too? Or is this crush really bad," Thalia was functioning much better than Bianca, who was still in shock. She hadn't expected her little brother to go for him, he was a nice boy, but she knew about his history getting kicked out of all of his different schools. She was worried, like the good big sister she was.

"Good question. He said he got made fun of at his old schools because of sexuality, but I saw him flirt with some girl, so I guess he's bi," Nico didn't sound sure of himself, but it was good enough for Thalia. She smiled and sat back down to do her homework.

She didn't let on, but she had a master plan going on in her head. Jackson would end up with di Angelo, because that would make Bianca happy. And Bianca happy was the best thing in the entire world. Plus she get to do something nice for someone, but it was mostly for Bianca.

* * *

Leo was at the shop again, and had forgotten to eat, again. He did that a lot, and then Frank got really angry so he tried harder to remember. But with all of the cars at the shop to work on, how could you even think about anything else.

He was working on a car that had blown it's engine. It was an easy fix, for him. Sometimes the mechanics would just stop and watch him work, apparently. He never noticed them, always too focused. Frank's grandmother would always laugh at him, saying that it was the only thing in the world the boy could focus on.

As much as he loved working on the cars, he also loved money. He wouldn't really call it a job, showing up whenever he could, but they would pay him for every car he fixed. The amount depended upon what the problem was, and how long it took to fix it. He was pretty sure everyone either loved him or hated him. Leo was not the best judge of character in these situations.

Frank was pissed beyond belief. He made the boy a god damn sandwich and he leaves it there on the counter. Frank knew if you didn't make Leo food he wouldn't eat, it was common knowledge after living with him for more than a week. It was a bad habit, but when he started on something that he really cared about, he wouldn't stop until he finished it. Which was actually quite admirable. Not that Frank would tell him that, it would encourage the little devil.

Leo was working on replacing a tire, and didn't even notice Frank walk up with a brown bag in his hand. It wasn't until Frank reached out and grabbed the tire from him did he notice. It wasn't hard for Frank to grab it, Leo wasn't very strong, and didn't have a good grasp on it. He looked up with his puppy dog eyes, trying to guilt him into giving it back. He would just finish this one car, he would say. Frank had heard that one a few times, and every time he would forget and keep working on other cars.

Frank held up the sack of food, and Leo's face immediately shifted. The boy loved food, he just didn't like the time spent eating it. It was time he could spend fixing cars and making money, which he would use to pay back Frank and his grandmother. He hated being a pain, so he hoped some payment would help.

Leo called to his coworkers that he was leaving for lunch, and they shouted back in Spanish and English. Frank couldn't help but smile, seeing Leo so happy with people that shared his same interest. But he had also seen the looks some of the guys gave Leo. Some were in admiration, some were anger, and some were lust. He hated those the most, even though he didn't know why. He had to admit, Leo was a really cute boy, but he was a boy. He was short, but when angered, Frank wouldn't mess with him. He was strong in his own way, he had to be to live in most of the foster homes he had been stuck into.

"So, you forgot your lunch again," Frank pointed out, annoyed. Leo avoided his gaze and shrugged his shoulders. Instead of talking, he piled food into his mouth. The older boy rolled his eyes. Leo was never easy to understand, but Frank wasn't sure he wanted too. Some things were better left a mystery. And mysterious Leo was pretty damn sexy. Where did that thought come from?

* * *

Ooh, Frank's being a teenage boy, I think. Being a teenage girl I would not know. Anyway, I'm gonna section things off so I actually know where one character stops and another starts. If you don't like it tell me, but I think this is easier. Review if you want to, let me know how much I screwed everything up. Go ahead, I'll think of it as constructive criticism, and won't cry too hard. Thanks for reading!


	15. Chapter 15

Annabeth was so done with everything. Not only had she finished The Mortal Instruments, but those god damn boys were flirting with _her_ girlfriend again. They did this every day, couldn't they see she wasn't interested? Damn her and her beauty.

She could see them leaning in way too close, but Annabeth also thought a mile away was too close too. Piper looked uncomfortable, pushing herself up against wall to get away from them. She knew they wouldn't hurt her, but they were still annoying as hell.

Annie had enough, she marched over and tapped the tallest boy on the shoulder. "Hey, you might want to leave her alone. She doesn't really seem interested."

The boy scowled at her, and turned to face the junior. "Oh c'mon, you're just jealous. No one even wants to hit on you," he smirked, his groupies laughing lightly, "scram, wise girl."

"Hey, maybe you should scram. That's my girlfriend you're talking to, buddy. Now leave me alone or I'll call some of my football player friends over," Piper waved at Jason from across the hall, who then turned and started walking over.

They all grumbled and walked away, except the tall one who stared Piper straight in the eye. "I'm gonna tell the entire school about this, just you wait. Then let's see who has football player friends." Piper smirked, then grabbed Annabeth's collar and pulled her into a deep kiss. They parted after a few moments, knowing all eyes were on them.

"Now you don't have to tell anyone," Piper smiled wide, grabbing Annabeth's hand. The boy looked absolutely disgusted as he walked away. Jason, who had just watched the entire thing, was very surprised.

"Uh, well, that was interesting. You guys are like, a thing?" Jason asked, Piper nodded. "That makes sense, I guess. Well, I'll go now. Uh, bye."

As soon as he was out of ear shot, they both started laughing. Annabeth was proud of her girlfriend, finally telling of those stupid guys. But surprised at how comfortable she was admitting to their relationship openly. Annabeth wasn't ready for that, but that was what Piper was good at, pushing her forward.

* * *

Nico had no idea where he was going, and he really didn't care anymore. Thalia and Jason had evil looks on their faces, and Bianca looked just as confused as he did. The Grace's in control, this was already a bad idea. Jason was behind the younger di Angelo, pushing him forward. Thalia was pulling the older di Angelo behind her by the hand.

It wasn't until they arrived at this really small Italian pizza place did he have any idea what was going on. It was around lunch time, so they were all eating together. Great. What an awesome surprise. What a letdown. It wasn't until he walked in the door, the little bell chiming, that he understood.

Sitting at an unusually long table, that was like five table put together, was a bunch of kids from school. But it was a strange combination. There were the seniors, Bianca and Thalia's friends. Then there was Nico's friends, like Frank and Piper. But then there were nerds. Octavian, Annabeth, and- no. It was Percy Jackson. They set this up. He glared at Jason, or where Jason was standing, but he went to join Frank and Leo.

Annabeth and Piper were holding hands, which was strange. He didn't know they were together, or even lesbians. And Octavian was at the wrong side of the table. He sat with the seniors, next to Luke. He would have imagined the boy would have had a heart attack, sitting that close to the most popular and handsome boy. Didn't he have a girlfriend? Nico sighed and went to the only empty seat, next to Percy. Of course.

"Hey, Neeks. Nice of you to join the loser side of the table," Percy smiled widely. As much as Nico hated the nickname, he couldn't be mad at the innocent face. It wasn't really the loser side, Juniper and Grover were chatting about the gardening club again, Piper and Annabeth were smiling and talking about some romance novel, Reyna was on the other side of Nico, chatting with Silena. Rachel hadn't shown up, probably doing something with her ridiculously rich parents.

"Not like I had much of a choice," Nico muttered, Percy ruffled his hair affectionately. The sophomore would have blushed if he his attention hadn't been caught by the other side of the table. It looked like Travis and Conner weren't there, but that didn't mean that the rest of the senior's couldn't stir something up.

It looked like Silena was questioning Tavvy, and he was getting red in the face. Luke caught onto this and threw an arm around him absentmindedly, telling off Silena. She started freaking out about how cute they were, then everyone on the other side of the table noticed. Jason's eyes went wide, Frank cocked his head to the side, Leo gasped, Annabeth smiled, Piper looked very confused, Reyna blinked, Juniper almost jumped up and down, but Grover held her down. Luke slowly retrieved his hand, like that would fix anything. Octavian sighed, then grabbed Luke's arm as he pulled away, placing it back on his shoulder. He tried to shrink into his boyfriend's chest, thinking that would make everyone not notice him.

While the underclassmen were still in a daze, the seniors laughed at the two. Even Luke had grown red in the face, with Tavvy snuggled up into his chest. Silena looked ready to have an adorableness induced heart attack. Charles placed a hand on her shoulder, making her stop shaking. Clarisse whispered into Chris's ear, making them both laugh. Bianca and Thalia almost started to applaud, but received a stern look from Luke.

Percy smiled at the two knowingly. It wasn't surprising Percy knew about the two of them, Nico thought. People opened up to him about everything. He wondered how many girls had already proclaimed their love to him this year; it had to be over a dozen.

Nico shook his head. Was everyone at this school gay? Nico never really believed the rumors about Luke, but seeing him with Octavian made his heart grow a little. Like the Grinch. Octavian coming out wasn't all that surprising, he had that look to him. They looked at ease together, and it made sense why Octavian was on the football team now. For Luke. How sweet.

Percy turned to Nico, the boy had a small smile on his face. It must be reassuring seeing someone like Luke come out, someone really popular. Nico would probably feel better, but that didn't help Percy at all. He liked Nico, he really did, but the boy obviously didn't like him. In any way. He ignored him sometimes, then when he did talk, the conversations were half assed, like he just wanted to leave. Percy couldn't crush on someone that was open and nice, of course not.

Nico realized Percy was staring at him, and blushed deeply. What did he want? Why would he stare at him, did he know he was doing it? Waiters brought out batches of breadsticks, they required multiple waiters for all the people they had to serve. The rest of the restaurant was empty. Who chose this place?

"Why are we here? I mean, besides meeting up outside school, but why this place? Who chose it?" Percy voiced Nico's thoughts. Damn, they were in sync. Annabeth laughed.

"My guess is Octavian, since if he ever leaves his house, he immediately wants come here. He's like a moth to a flame," Annabeth said, Grover and Juniper nodded. The place was nice, and the food smelled good, but there were plenty of other, and better, restaurants in New York.

"I love this place, I've got plenty of memories here," Octavian mumbled into Luke's chest. Neither had moved, they were too content.

Luke lightly squeezed his shoulder. "When was the first time you came here?" Tavvy blushed with everyone's eyes on him, that didn't usually happen to nerds unless they won a science fair.

"I was thirteen, I think, my parents brought me here. They never bring me anywhere, and had just gotten back from a month long trip. I've come here ever since," he explained. Silena's face fell, Teddy Bear sounded kind of sad.

"Are you an only child?" Silena asked, he nodded. "Why don't they bring you anywhere then? Shouldn't they take you everywhere with them if they're gone a lot?"

Tavvy chuckled lightly. "You would think so, but it's the opposite. When they aren't off at work or on a trip, they're working at home. They barely even talk to each other. I'm okay with it though, if not talking means they don't get divorced. A silent life is better than a split one," he shrugged, oblivious to how horrible it sounded to everyone else. It was normal for him, it was another factor of being a Simmons. Luke pulled him in a little closer, pressing a light kiss to his forehead.

"That's horrible, I can't imagine living like that," Bianca frowned thoughtfully, almost everyone nodded in agreement. Octavian was more than confused, his situation wasn't that bad, was it? He knew other peoples parents got divorced all the time, and that is sucked. He didn't want to live in two houses, splitting holidays, having to go back in forth when you forgot something, telling all of your friends two addresses for where to pick you up depending on what day it was. He had thought about it a little too much.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, Jason's. He barely knew the boy, yet he was trying to comfort him. Why was everyone being so sympathetic? People went through this kind of stuff all the time.

"It's no big deal guys, it's been like this almost my entire life. I'm used to it, if they started talking to each other, I would freak out," he joked, but apparently that was the wrong approach. Everyone stared at him with pitying eyes.

Beckendorf broke the silence after a while. "You're perfectly okay with it though. Them not talking at all," Octavian nodded. Charles sighed. "Why don't you talk to them, try and help them communicate better?"

Octavian rolled his eyes, and sat up straight in his chair, pulling away from Luke's grasp. "I don't want to mess things up any more. I think they still feel like they're in love, and that's good with me. Or they both cheat on each other and don't want the other to know. That's fine too. As long as they're still there, I'm fine with it. They seem happy working, and that's what they do. Who am I to stop them?"

"Their son. If you aren't happy, you should tell them," Thalia said with a scowl.

"I am perfectly happy the way things are," Octavian was starting to get annoyed.

"Then why do you come back to the same place they took you once? You probably don't even know you do it. But it's more psychological than anything, it's because you want to relive the memory of coming here with your parents, because they both came, and they talked to each other. That's why you keep coming back, Tavvy. You might not think it is, but that's exactly why," Clarisse explained, which was unexpected. Clarisse wasn't known for her psychological achievements, but everything made sense to Octavian now. He found himself here whenever he didn't know what to do, or something was worse than normal at home.

His expression was blank while he contemplated. Everyone stared at him for a while, before realizing that he wasn't going to answer. They all fell back into conversations amongst themselves, leaving Octavian staring out the window on the opposite side of the room. Luke shook him after a few minutes, and he snapped out of it immediately.

"Are you okay? You should have told me about what was happening at your house," Luke frowned, but couldn't be angry at his boyfriend. He still looked a little out of it.

"I didn't think it was bad, I thought it was normal, better than a divorce at least. Apparently I was wrong," Octavian mumbled, not really caring if Luke didn't heard him.

After a few more minutes, the meal was served. Everyone had pizza, there were five different kinds of pizza, and about twelve pizzas. They had a bunch of teenage boys together, they needed twelve pizzas.

Silena was happily chatting with Luke, while Octavian took a nap on his shoulder. Reyna said that his brain had broken down, but Luke stepped in to say that he and Luke had worked out together before lunch. Octavian still didn't think he was fit enough to be on the team, and wasn't even close to ready for practice to start. Everyone else disagreed, he was probably the only one that was prepared.

Nico struck up conversation about Mythomagic with Percy, both boys had apparently played it when they were younger.

"I had almost every card, except Poseidon. I kid you not, I bought a dozen packs at one time, looking for that card. Needless to say, I was disappointed." Nico sighed, reliving the depressing memory.

Percy smiled. "That was the only good card I had, I got a pack for my birthday, from this girl that liked me at school, and I opened it and out fell Poseidon. I was shocked, and really happy. I showed it off at school, and got beat up. They tried to steal it, but I never let go. It's a bit crumpled up now, and probably dusty since it's been in a box for so long." Nico laughed, surprising Reyna. She was sitting next to Nico di Angelo, correct? The boy never laughed at anyone. She turned to look at Percy, he was handsome. Oh no, Nico had a crush on him. She put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. It was too cute. But, from the looks of it, Percy liked Nico too. It was too adorable.

When everyone was full, they tried to reason how to pay. Bianca insisted on paying for everything, being the wealthiest one there. Luke shrank in his chair, but Tavvy leaned over and stole the check. He put his credit card in it and sent it back with the owner. Everyone stared at him, but he simply shrugged.

"I have money too. Besides, I get a discount here for being their best customer," he waved it off easily. He hadn't even eaten a slice of pizza. Luke forced him to at least eat some of his left over crust, worried about his weight, but claiming it was for football. As everyone walked out the door, they thanked Tavvy and gave him a pat on the back.

As the door shut and the little bell rang again, Margaret let out a sigh. Seeing Octavian with a bunch of kids and not alone made her smile. But also realize how much he had grown up. Frown a loner to the boyfriend of a handsome jock. She stared out the window, seeing him grin and climb into an old car. She heard her cousin shout in Italian at her from the kitchen. Family businesses, not worth it at all.

* * *

Group get together! And depressed Tavvy, awe. I should really stop being so mean to him, but he'll be fine. Anyway, review if you wanna, or nah. I'm never doing that again. Thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter 16

It was their first football practice. It was the very first for almost everyone, except Octavian. But he didn't count, dating the team captain you could practice whenever you wanted. But Percy was nervous, and annoying Nico who had agreed to come with him.

"I'm going to screw it all up, I can just feel it," Percy moaned and put his head in his hands. Nico rolled his eyes.

"It's conditioning and learning people's names. It can't be that bad. Just don't call someone anything offensive, and I think you'll be fine." Nico gave him a pat on the back, and Percy moaned some more.

Frank was ready, and Leo was jumping up and down, waiting for it to start. He was just too damn excitable.

"It's gonna be awesome, you'll do great! Just do whatever Octavian does, and I'm sure you'll do fine," Leo encouraged.

Frank sighed. "He's a wide receiver, I'm a linebacker. We do different drills and stuff." Explaining football to Leo would have been too much effort and time, and he was saved by the whistle.

"Get your asses down here! We need to start!" The coach yelled at the top of his lungs. Frank had heard about Coach Hedge, apparently he took practice really serious and worked his players to the bone. That was also part of the reason the team were state champions.

Percy said a quick goodbye to Nico and sprinted down to the field, closely followed by Frank. Octavian had been on the field for a while, being scolded by Coach Hedge. He had apparently heard about how well the sophomore did at the try outs, which he wasn't present at. Luke talked him up, damn him. After his lecture about how he wasn't going to get special treatment because he did well and was probably the best player on the team. Tavvy knew that, he didn't even want to be on the team, but he would never say that out loud. He was actually scared to death.

Percy came up behind him and planted two hands on his back, scaring him. He jumped, making his teammates laugh. Luke glared at Percy, who stuck his tongue out. He couldn't openly protect his boyfriend here, and Percy was going to take advantage of that.

Up on the bleachers, Nico sat with Leo. There were some girls there watching their boyfriends, but they stayed away from the two boys. Leo was surprisingly quite, watching intently and listening to every word the coach said. Nico watched the players react, nodding or shaking their heads. Finally they made them introduce themselves. Luke was first, being the quarterback.

"Hello! If you didn't know, I'm Luke Castellan. Senior, and the quarterback. Also team captain, so I'm in charge when Hedge isn't here, which is most of the time," that earned him a few sniggers and a stern glare. "But anyway, if you have any questions or anything, come and ask."

They went through some of the older players first, Chris, the Stoll's and Beckendorf included. They finally got to Frank, and he could barely talk, he was so scared.

"I'm Frank. Just moved here. Junior. Linebacker." He stepped back into line. A few people stifled laughs, but were shut up with a glare from Luke. Coach Hedge smiled. Then it was Percy's turn.

"Percy Jackson, I'm a junior too. I play running back. It's nice to meet all of you," he gave a wave and stepped back into line. Octavian was physically shaking, but it had gone unnoticed by almost everyone. Except Luke. He caught his boyfriend's eye and gave him a reassuring smile, which Octavian immediately returned. He shook himself and stepped forward.

"I'm Octavian Simmons, also a junior. I'll be playing wide receiver. Pleasure to meet you all," he smiled and stepped back, exhaling deeply. Percy gave him a thumbs up, but then everyone started to mumble. Octavian looked around, but everyone was staring at him.

"All right, all right. We still have half of the team to get through. Useless gossip isn't going to get us to the state championships," Coach Hedge shouted, and everyone shut up. Travis raised his hand, like this was a class. Coach glared, but pointed at him, signaling for him to speak.

"It wasn't gossip," he said, smiling wide, "we were talking about Tavvy's performance at tryouts. He's better than all of us." Luke looked ready to kill, and Tavvy went red in the face. He wanted to tell them all that he didn't really do all that well, and he didn't even want to be there, but Hedge cut in.

"His performance at tryouts has nothing to do with this, you all made it in. Right now, you all are at level one. You have to keep building up to be the best, no one has an advantage or disadvantage here. Now continue."

They went through the rest of introductions without a hitch. Percy had seen most of the team around school. It was easy to see who had been on it last year, they held themselves a lot higher than the newbies. The seniors last year had apparently been absolutely amazing, so they all had to make up for lost players. They hadn't even had a single practice, and Coach already thought they sucked. Very optimistic.

When they finally started conditioning, practice only had half an hour left. Leo had fallen asleep, and Nico was reading a book he brought with him. He knew what was going to happen, he had come to the first practice last year too. Jason had made him. That was usually what got him into trouble, Jason dragging him into things.

They split up and did different drills, most of the time the groups were just talking. But Hedge expected that, they needed to bond before they could even get to training. He needed to make this team a family. Mental training before physical.

After their limited training session, Coach called them all back in. They discussed how if your grades drop, you're off the team. And when the next practice was, in two days. They got a day off because Coach Hedge was just so nice, and was going to be gone again.

Percy ran up to Nico on the bleachers, but his smile fell when he saw the boy reading instead of paying attention. Well, it was better that Leo.

"Hey, did you even pay attention to any of it?" Percy pushed Nico's book out of his face, earning a glare. If he didn't like the older boy Nico would have punched him for interrupting him while reading, it's just something you don't do.

"I watched when you guys were actually practicing, which was like ten minutes. When you went back to talking, I picked my book back up," he sounded offended, Percy ruffled his hair and smiled. Nico rolled his eyes.

Frank was less than impressed with Leo's performance. He passed out on the bleachers, and it looked like he was drooling. It was kinda cute, really. No, no it wasn't. Frank shook his head, he needed to stop thinking like that, it was weird. He sat down next to the sleeping boy, gently shaking him awake. After a minute or two, he awoke. Blinking, then shielding his eyes from the sun. It wasn't bright, but it was too bright for when you just woke up.

He rolled over, and fell off the bleachers. Leo started to laugh at himself, as Frank asked him if he was okay. He was fine, it was just a little fall. They both left, Leo still sniggering at himself, and Frank worrying as normal.

Octavian was jittery as he made his way to the locker room. After the speech Coach gave, he thought he would feel better. He was wrong. Everyone kept looking at him funny, or so he thought. Really they weren't looking at him at all, but he was paranoid. Luke noticed his uneasiness, and followed him to the junior locker room. All of the other juniors had left, Luke checked.

Octavian heard the footsteps behind him and turned around immediately, only to run face first into his boyfriend.

"Ah, oh. Sorry," Tavvy struggled with words, along with his paranoia, confusion also settled in. Why was he in the junior locker room, and where was everyone?

"Tavvy, are you okay? You don't look so good," Luke was worried, he had never seen Tavvy so agitated before.

The junior gave his best fake smile. "I'm perfectly fine, just a little nervous, that's all." Luke didn't believe that one bit.

"Tavvy, no you aren't. Your shaking like a leaf. Now tell me," he grabbed the younger boys hand. Tavvy exhaled slowly, knowing he couldn't escape this.

"Last year, and the year before, actually, I had gotten beaten up a lot. It was by the upperclassmen, always. And they were always on the football team. It wasn't anyone that is on the team now, it was the seniors from last year, the homophobes. That was the main reason, and the fact that I am the definition of a nerd. But anyway, I was afraid because some of the people here were on the team at that time, and if they saw me getting beaten up, they would think of me as an easy target. I don't know, it makes sense in my paranoid head. Yes, I know I'm paranoid. But that won't change," his voice got quieter as he explained.

Luke pulled him into a back breaking hug. "I was on the team too, but I never saw anything. I doubt anyone else did either, okay? There's no need to be worried. And if they do try and mess with you, well, you beat up Travis didn't you? I'm always right there, by your side. Got it?" Tavvy nodded into his chest. He found this position quite comfortable, he should do this more often.

"Now go and change, I'll wait by the front door." He pushed his boyfriend towards his locker.

Octavian was confused, why was he waiting? "Where are we going?"

Luke smiled, but didn't answer. He waved and walked out the door, it shutting loudly behind him. Octavian sighed, then ran to go get changed, he didn't want Luke to wait any longer than he had to. And he wanted to know where they were going.

* * *

Percy had brought Nico back to his apartment, so they could finish up on some homework. Even though Nico was a year behind Percy, he could do almost everything that the boy was doing. He also learned that if Percy really tried, he was actually pretty smart. He just didn't try.

After finished their homework, Percy offered a walk in the park. Nico agreed, trying not to seem too excited. Going on a romantic stroll with your crush was something that happened in movies, not real life.

They walked around for a while, just talking. Until they heard a whimper from a large bush. Percy heard it first, and shushed Nico. He slowly walked towards the bush, and peeled away the branches.

Sitting near the base was a black puppy. He had matted hair and looked ridiculously underfed. Nico looked over Percy's shoulder, frowning at the small dog. Percy didn't know what to do, but Nico leaned over and picked up the puppy. It was pretty big, and it had huge feet. It was going to be a big dog. The puppy whimpered, snuggling up to Nico. Percy had to admit, seeing Nico with a puppy was absolutely adorable.

"I should take him to the pet store, find the stuff he needs. He's really small, probably should still be feeding of his mommy, huh." Nico gradually went into baby talk, well, puppy talk.

Percy frowned. "How do you know it's a he, let me check," he grabbed the puppy, and looked down under.

"Oh look, it's a girl. You were wrong," Nico frowned, and took the puppy back from Percy. The puppy stopped squirming as soon as it was against Nico's chest.

"Well, we need a name. What about Mrs. O'Leary, you like that, girl?" Nico asked the puppy, and in response she licked his face. Taking that as a yes, Nico smiled triumphantly.

"Mrs. O'Leary? Where did you get that from?" The name was strange, and not really fit for a dog.

Nico shrugged. "Bianca had this stuffed animal that was a big black dog, she named it Mrs. O'Leary. She looks like that stuffy." Percy smiled, and the duo started off towards the pet store. They weren't even dating and they already adopted a pet together. Percy chuckled to himself and put a hand on Nico's shoulder as the crossed the street, not noticing the deep red blush on Nico's cheeks.

* * *

You have to have Mrs. O'Leary in it for it to be a true PJO story. If there are any mistakes, please tell me. I didn't have my "editior" (read best friend that I make read my story) check over it. But anywho, if you liked it, review or whatever. Or nah, dats fine. I should stop. Thanks for reading!


	17. Chapter 17

Luke hadn't shown up at school, which was strange. He always showed up, even when he was sick with the flu, much to Octavian's dismay. Tavvy checked his phone, but he hadn't gotten any calls or texts from his boyfriend. So he went to Chris, his best friend must have known where he was.

Chris shook his head and frowned. He knew something was off too. They didn't have practice, thankfully, or else Tavvy would have had a heart attack facing that alone. He told himself he was just sick with something really bad and didn't come to school. And forgot to text his wonderful boyfriend either. This was very unlikely.

He seemed fine when they went on their date yesterday, laughing and enjoying himself. Octavian really hadn't expected Luke to be the kind of guy to like romantic movies, but after seeing his boyfriend crying into his sleeve, Tavvy had to try really hard not to laugh in the middle of the movie. Afterwards, they went out for ice cream, and Luke ate most of Tavvy's too, saying he wasn't hungry. Luke doubted him, but he ate it, not wanting to argue or waste perfectly good ice cream.

For the rest of the day, all he did was worry. Rachel made fun of him, but he could tell she was worried too. Annabeth and Piper asked around too, but with no prevail. Percy gave him some blue cookies during lunch, which must have meant a lot to him. It was nice to have such good friends, but he was too scared to really notice all of their kindness.

At 2:37 his phone went off, he almost dropped it trying to answer. It was a text, from Luke. He breathed out, he wasn't dead. Or the murderer was using his phone, but he pushed that thought aside. He unlocked his phone and read the text.

_Meet me at the playground behind the elementary school we used to go to_

That was it, but he didn't waste any time climbing in his car and driving there. He didn't care what happened, if Luke was there, he was going. He parked in the front lot, and sprinted to the back. There he saw a figure hunched over, feet dangling off of a raised platform.

As Tavvy approached, he saw how damaged Luke looked. His hair was a complete mess, his eyes bloodshot, with dark bags under them. Slowly, he climbed up to sit next to his boyfriend. They just sat, Luke staring off at a fixed point in the distance, Octavian worrying about him.

"My mother has a mental illness," Luke finally cut in, "it started after my dead left, kind of like post-traumatic stress disorder. But she has a horrible memory, and I don't know how to explain it. It's just horrible. I can barely live with her."

He took a shaky breathe. Octavian rubbed circles on his back, trying to help. There was no way he was going to cut in, he knew better than that.

"But, they decided that she can no longer live without 24/7 care and stuff. And since I have school and football practice and a job on the weekends, and you I can't do that. So they're taking her away," Luke was so close to tears, Tavvy's heart almost broke. He pulled him into a hug, like Luke usually did, with his head on the other boys chest.

Luke had known it was coming, they gave him a two week notice. He tried to ignore it, think about other things, about Tavvy. But when they finally came, and his mother's screams, he just couldn't take it. He let the tears fall, soaking Tavvy's shirt.

Tavvy wrapped his arms even tighter around his boyfriend. Luke never talked about his home life, and this was why. This was also why Octavian didn't either. He didn't deserve the treatment he got from his peers, everyone pitied him. They should pay more attention to people who really needed it, who actually had tough times at home.

They sat there for half an hour, not talking. Just lost in thought. Luke thought about all of the fun times he had with his mother, before his dad left, breaking her. All of the memories came back and hit him, leaving him whimpering in the arms of an angel. Tavvy was always there, protecting him, but not pushing him. Not asking any questions that would hurt him. How did he deserve him?

"Tavvy," Luke said slowly. Tavvy looked down at his boyfriend, who had puffy red eyes, but had never looked more handsome, and he nodded. "I love you, so, so much."

Octavian didn't expect that, but as he gazed down into the eyes of his boyfriend, he realized something. Something that had never occurred to him before this moment. He never expected to feel it, not in his entire life. He was the one that stood out, the gay guy no one liked, the total nerd.

"I love you too," he mumbled into the blonde, tousled hair. He had never said anything more true in his life. And for once, he felt loved.

* * *

Nico had absolutely fallen in love. With Mrs. O'Leary, of course. Bianca did too, but not nearly as much as he did.

After his mother got done yelling at him about being so irresponsible and bringing a dog home, she agreed to keep her. They scheduled an appointment with the vet, to get her checked up. Mrs. di Angelo would never admit it, but she liked the puppy too. He even caught Hazel playing with her, it was cute.

Percy knew there was no way he could keep a dog in his small apartment, his mother put up with a lot, but a dog was pushing it. Besides, it gave him an excuse to go see Nico all the time. He probably hated Percy, but he didn't say it out loud, well, not in a way that wasn't obviously sarcastic.

Nico had invited him to his house to study, he claimed Jason was coming too, along with some of his friends. Probably Leo and Frank, they seemed to follow him everywhere. Well, Frank followed Jason, and Leo followed Frank. Leo had a huge crush on Frank, Percy could see that, but Frank was more oblivious than Percy himself was.

He thought he would get used to the creepy house that the di Angelo's lived in, but it still sent shivers up his spine every time he walked through the doorway. Everything was just too dark colored for his taste. It felt like a funeral home, but as Mrs. O'Leary ran up to greet him, he put the thought aside.

They had only found the pup yesterday, but she already loved Nico and Percy. Nico a bit more, but Percy didn't let that get to him. He probably thought of the younger boy as her mom, so Perce was glad that he was the dad. Being the mom would hit his masculinity a bit too hard.

Nico ran up behind the dog, kneeling down next to her as she viciously attacked Percy's calves. Not on purpose, but her teeth were sharper than she thought, making Percy gasp in pain as she dug them into his left leg. With a little effort, Nico picked her up and held her until she calmed down.

"She's pretty excited to see you, that or she hates you. But I'm gonna be an optimist," Nico smiled at the puppy.

Percy stepped in the doorway. "That'd be a first." Nico glared and walked towards the dining hall, Percy at his heels.

As soon as he set the puppy down, Nico heard the doorbell ring, and Mrs. O'Leary took off. With a sigh he chased after her to open the door and let the other guests in. Percy chuckled lightly and set his bag down on the table. He didn't notice the girl in the corner of the room, blending in with the shadows.

"Why, hello there, Percy Jackson." Bianca said slowly, watching the green eyed boy jump, his pencil flying out of his grasp. She chuckled darkly.

"Do all di Angelo's act like vampires? Seriously, you are creepy as hell," he shuddered, Bianca sat down across from him, clasping her hands together.

She shook her head. "Hazel's a sweetheart, don't know where she got that from. But that's beside the point, I want to know about your… relationship with my brother."

Percy blushed a dark scarlet. "Relationship? We d-don't have a relationship, if that's what you're talking about. Neeks is my friend," he added, "yeah. That's it."

"Oh please," Bianca rolled her eyes, "I know you like him, from that blush of yours. And I know he likes you too, he's my baby brother. I know everything about him."

_Did you know he got beat up and I took care of him_, Percy thought, suppressing a scowl. "Really? He doesn't act like it," he crossed his arms.

"He doesn't really know how to show affection, you got to cut him some slack, he's still hard on himself for his sexuality. I don't know why though, he's perfect just the way he is," she frowned inwardly.

"You got that right," Percy muttered under his breathe, but Bianca had vampire hearing too. She grinned like an idiot, getting up and running to the other side of the table.

"I've got a plan, no, don't look at me like that. Just hear me out," she looked around to see if anyone was around. Nico was taking a long time, thankfully. She leaned down and started whispering in the boy's ear. His face turned from joy to shock to amusement in a matter of seconds. This was the stupidest yet most ingenious plan he had ever heard. It might just work.

Nico stopped in shock, as he saw his beloved older sister whispering in his crush's ear. What was she doing? He cleared his throat loudly, and the two jumped and moved away from each other. Percy looked shocked, while Bianca smiled and walked away into the kitchen. She winked at Percy as she left, making him blush harder.

Nico tried to forget what just happened and ushered his other friends into the room. Jason was first, as always, followed by Frank and Leo, walking side by side. Hazel slipped in after, mumbling incoherently.

Jason sat next to Percy, with Frank on his other side. Leo sat across from Jason, and Nico next to him, directly across from Percy, Hazel on his other side. As they all dove into their homework, Nico noticed something about Percy. He swung his feet back and forth while he read, and ended up repeatedly kicking Nico. It was annoying the hell out of him. Finally, he gave him a little kick back, to get his attention. Percy snapped out of his daze, he'd been staring at the same word for about ten minutes. He looked up at Nico innocently, and the younger boy just glared in response. It stayed like that until Leo asked Nico a question about their homework.

Nico could not teach Leo Valdez anything. The boy had not paid any attention during class, he hadn't even written down the formula they had to use for all of their problems. Frank noticed how upset Nico looked and grabbed Leo's homework. With a quick glance over it, he realized he did that last year.

"Leo, come over here. I'll teach you," he gestured towards the seat next to him. Leo almost dropped all of his books, rushing over to the seat. Percy gave a little laugh, he was so cute, and obviously in love. While Leo got tutored, Jason was stumped as well, but there was no way he would ask for help. After going through the problem ten times, and getting the same answer, he looked over at Percy's paper. He had gotten the exact same answer, but hadn't changed it.

"Perce, I think you got number twenty-seven wrong," he pointed out. Percy ducked his head to look at his paper, before glaring at Jason.

"And why did you notice that, you big cheater." He shielded his paper childishly, making Nico laugh a little. Jason would have paid more attention to the laugh if his credibility wasn't at stake.

He waved his arms back and forth. "No, I got the same answer as you, but it's not right. I was just checking your paper to see what you got," he explained.

"That is the definition of cheating," Nico pointed out. Jason glared at the younger boy. They all erupted in laughter together, but Leo didn't notice due to the fact he was still struggling with basic math. Hazel, who had been silent the entire time, laughed at the duo.

Bianca gazed at the group from the doorway connecting the dining hall and the atrium. Mrs. O'Leary ran up and barked at her, but she quieted quickly after Bianca gave her a look. Thankfully, none of the others noticed, and she watched her little brother and step-sister with all of the pride an amazing big sister could have.

* * *

Awe, I have a feeling Mrs. O'Leary ships Pernico too. OctaLuke feels, sowwy. I'll try and be more happy next chapter. Review if you wanna, it's greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	18. Chapter 18

Silena was always upset about how many books they were expected to bring to class. She almost dropped them all about ten times, today. Damn, she hated school.

But her day immediately brightened up when she saw Luke rushing down the hallway, a determined look on his face. He was back! She would have to ask him why he wasn't there yesterday. Before she could form a syllable, he started to ramble.

"I need your help because I told Teddy Bear I love him and now I have no idea what to do and I have to do something really romantic now and you're the best with romance so please help me Silena I will love you forever," he actually fell down onto his knees to beg somewhere in the middle of that. She looked around and saw all of the stares the two were getting. Gently, she pulled him and pushed him forwards, smiling apologetically at all of the people that Luke got in the way of.

"Okay, so you told him you love him. Do you actually love him? Is that the problem?" All she had gotten from the explanation was that Luke was very stressed out, and it probably didn't have anything to do with Tavvy, but she wouldn't press. He hated that.

He waved his hands. "No, I do! I just want to do something romantic to show him that I really do!" He exclaimed, louder than he intended. But luckily, Silena was smart and led them to an empty hallway.

"Does he not believe that you love him? He needs reassurance? I don't know him very well, but he doesn't seem like that. The girls I know that are like th-" Silena tried to reason but Luke interrupted.

"No, he said he loved me too. But I just want to show him," he looked tired, like he hadn't slept in a week. Maybe he hadn't, that would explain so much.

"Luke, sweetheart, this isn't about Tavvy. I know that just looking at you," he lowered his head, but she continued, "but I'll help you with Tavvy because it's obvious you need something to distract you. And it so happens I've had a plan for you since you told me you were dating a guy. So come to my house after school."

He shook his head. "Football practice. Beckendorf will be there, so you might as well come. I can meet up with you after," she nodded, "and thanks. For not asking."

She smiled and walked off towards her next class. She was going to be late, and she dropped her books in the hallway somewhere. Whoops. As long as she got to use her ingenious plan, she didn't care if she lost her chemistry book.

* * *

Jason moaned. He didn't know the homework for an actual grade. And that stupid problem had lowered his usual A+ to just a normal A. He was such a failure! What would Coach Hedge do, kick him off the team.

As Grace pulled his hair out, Jackson smiled down at his paper. He got a B+, which was great for him. He looked over at Jason, who was writhing in pain. He suppressed a chuckle, what a nerd. Maybe Octavian wasn't the only geek on the football team. And why hadn't he answered any of his calls yesterday? He really needed help on his homework, and of course it's the one time he doesn't pick up. It probably had to do with Luke missing school yesterday.

Frank across the room was struggling to fill in answers before the teacher looked at his paper. Leo needed a lot of help with his homework, so he had no time to do his own. And then he forgot about it this morning. Fantastic. Somehow, he filled most of them in right, managing to get an A-. Damn, he was good.

The teacher took a call in the middle of a lesson, and then promptly ran out of the classroom. Everyone looked at each other, confused as hell. But, as most teenagers do, they quickly dismissed the actual problem and started chatting about random topics.

"Hey, Perce, what did you get? I got an A," Grover looked a little upset, but brushed it off quickly.

Percy smirked triumphantly, and flashed him the grade. Grover looked mildly impressed, Percy always got bad grades. He was actually trying here, which was a good sign. Jason charged over, followed by Frank.

As they all compared test scores, Annabeth and Octavian, in the AP Algebra classroom, wanted to die.

Annabeth had gotten her lowest grade of the year, a C+. She had used the wrong formula for everything, and worse, she gave it to Octavian too. He was also sulking into his desk, closest to tears he had been in a while.

Rachel patted his back and gave a motivational smile. He grumbled and turned his head the other way. She had aced it, of course. She was the one usually getting C's and B's. But she was still smart enough to be in the higher ability.

Thankfully, most of the class copied down the wrong thing too. It was really the teachers fault, he labeled it wrong. The people who aced it either cheated or copied down the actual equation on accident. Tavvy had some choice words for them, that really shouldn't be repeated.

* * *

Lunch was just plain depressing at all tables. After all of the juniors discussed their failed math tests and homework, they started complaining about the dance coming up. You were expected to go, it was just a thing that you did. There wouldn't be a king or queen, thank god, but there would be plenty of judging, as expected from any social gathering of adolescents.

Luke was already stressed out with his mother and the dance added another layer to the madness. He wanted to go with Tavvy, of course, but he would end up going with some pretty girl that begged him and threatened to cause a scene if he didn't agree. Happened every year.

Silena was discussing her dress already, and Thalia looked bored as Bianca fantasized about hers too. Clarisse was talking about football with Chris and Beckendorf, while Luke sat in silence. He remembered they had football practice, he had forgotten already. And after that he had to meet with Silena about her master plan. Just the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.

Chris noticed this and put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Is everything okay? You look a little out of it," he asked cautiously. He knew Luke didn't like people bothering him about his personal life, but one question couldn't hurt.

He nodded, which really didn't help. Chris raised an eyebrow, and Luke snapped out of his hypnotic trance. "What? Oh, I'm fine. Just really tired," he said slowly, as though he thought through every word before he said it.

"Then you should skip practice tonight, you look beat. The team would be better off with an alert captain, you know." Luke shook his head, he couldn't miss football practice and school. That was just too much. Chris rolled his eyes, that boy needed to do something for himself.

Then Chris smiled wide, and Luke looked at him confused. If Luke wouldn't listen to him, he knew someone he would have to listen to.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You can absolutely not go to football practice, you look like shit. Worse than shit, really." Octavian shouted at his boyfriend. Chris had talked to him after lunch, and after the next period Tavvy rushed down to the senior wing to yell at him.

"Someone might see you, go back to the junior lockers. I'll talk to you during practice, okay?" Luke pleaded, but he knew Tavvy was stubborn as hell.

He shook his head defiantly. "No, because you aren't going to practice. Listen, I know it's hard, but you have to take care of yourself. It's going to be rough, with your mom gone, but you're practically an adult. I live alone too, so don't pull the 'you don't understand' card. Just, don't come today, the Stoll's or Charles or Chris can lie for you. Now, I have to go back to class, and if I see you there, you are dead, and broken up with. I'm serious."

After he left, Luke stood there for a moment, trying to process what had happened. He slowly turned and walked to his classroom, Tavvy's voice echoing in his brain. He would have to tell Silena to meet him right after school. Whatever romantic gesture she had thought up better be grand, because he loved Tavvy a little bit more now.

Octavian didn't mean to be so harsh, but if that's what it took, he make a scene for the entire school. He didn't want Luke to get sick or hurt. If he went to practice in this state he'd be both by the end. Tavvy checked his watch and cursed under his breathe, and ran to his next class. Damn Luke making him late to class. Such a bad influence.

At practice later in the afternoon, Luke was missing. Tavvy smiled victoriously, and everyone else looked very confused. When Coach Hedge started shouting, the seniors fell over themselves offering excuses to why the boy was gone. Everyone really did love Luke, Percy thought. Hedge gave up trying to determine what was true, and moved onto yelling.

"Last practice was good, but we need to work even harder. Our first game is in less than a month, so we need to get to conditioning right away. So scram, weaklings!" Everyone scattered immediately, rushing off to different stations that were already set up for the positions.

Leo on the bleachers laughed as some of the boys tripped over the artificial turf. He knew he would have too, but it was still funny. Nico sat and watched as Percy started doing some running drills. He probably shouldn't stare so much, people would notice. After a while, the two turned to their homework. Leo was still confused, but did all of the problems he knew he could answer. Nico blew through his in ten minutes, then went to his book. Annabeth had suggested it, and it was pretty good.

The Latino finally gave up on it and laid down on the bleachers, asleep almost instantly. Nico laughed, he couldn't fall asleep anywhere besides his own bed. Traveling was a nightmare. When he was little, Bianca would sing an Italian lullaby to him to help. She had a beautiful voice she never used, and it was a shame.

Silena watched for a while, as instructed, then walked to the parking lot where Luke's beat up car was. She smiled, some things never change. He loved that car, he wouldn't admit it, but he did. She sat down gracefully, and then took off her shoes. The car was filthy, her new stilettos did not deserve to have all that dirt on them. She held them on her lap and crossed her legs under her.

"Okay, what's your master plan?" Luke asked slowly, like he was scared. She grinned knowingly, he should be scared. She leaned over and whispered in his ear. His face paled immediately, when she sat back, he nodded. She climbed out of the car and went back to the bleachers.

He was going to do it. Her plan was too good to resist. And to think people doubted her relationship advice. Idiots.

* * *

Silena strikes again. Everyone fails their tests, fun times. Review if you wanna. Thanks for reading!


	19. Chapter 19

After being questioned a million times about where he was during practice, Luke decided to put his hood up and run through the halls. He needed to get to class, but first, he needed to check up on someone.

Tavvy was grabbing things out of his locker when Luke arrived, with his hood up like a really crappy ninja. He glared at the older boy, and continued to gather materials for his first period.

"At lunch, meet me by the bulletin board, okay? See ya," Luke rushed off immediately, not waiting for a response. Tavvy rolled his eyes, what was he up to? It couldn't be good. He marched toward class, juggling all of his text books. Silena wasn't the only one with a problem.

Piper passed him as she ran towards her girlfriend's locker. Annabeth was always early to class, which meant she was almost never at her locker. Pipes had basically grabbed everything from her locker, and sprinted.

Annabeth was still at her locker, slowly picking up her stuff off the floor. It had all fallen out, of course. She was too tired to really care, she hadn't slept at all last night. Her neighbors were having a party with way too loud music. Weren't they too old for that?

When she closed her locker, she dropped everything again, surprised to see Piper. The younger girl started apologizing immediately, picking everything up. Annie just smiled at her girlfriend, then slowly kneeled.

"I wanted to surprise you, and I guess it worked. A bit too well," she smiled apologetically. Annabeth waved her hand, motioning it was fine.

"You did a great job. Is there any reason you're here?" Annabeth really needed to get to class, Piper could tell. But the native-American just shook her head. The blonde leaned down and gave her a light kiss, then turned and went off to class.

Piper turned around and smiled triumphantly. It was all worth it, even carrying around all of her books for every class. And being late.

* * *

On the morning announcements, they, well, announced, the dance ticket sales. Everyone started cheering, immediately looking around to see who they would go with. Almost everyone, there were some singles that didn't even want to go with a group. That including Nico di Angelo. Jason offered to go with him, he didn't have a date. Yet. Some girl would ask him and he would of course say yes, it happened last year.

It wasn't boy ask girl, or girl ask boy, due to the fact that those sucked and there were an outrageous amount of homosexual couples at the school. But the whole thing sucked to Nico. A stupid dance where you dress up for no reason and you don't even dance. Not really. They played stupid music that was supposed to be good. Supposed to be.

Octavian knew he was going with Rachel. Annabeth would go with Piper, of course. But Rachel didn't have a date, so, being an awesome best friend, he would be her date. And Luke couldn't go with him because it was too public. Not that it hurt Tavvy in the slightest bit. Not at all.

Rachel didn't want to go with Octavian. She knew he would be moping all night, looking at Luke dance with some pretty blonde that he had to go with to maintain his popularity. Rachel was going to give that boy a piece of her mind. Nobody did that to her best friend.

Percy was very, very scared. He wanted to ask Nico, but 1) Nico would say no and 2) Jason said he wasn't going. Great. He didn't want to go alone, maybe he could go with Leo. There was no way Frank would ask him, he was way too shy. And not sure of the boy's sexuality. He didn't blame him at all, if he wasn't sure Nico was gay he wouldn't have even considered asking him. That's a friendship ruined right there.

Piper had to ask Annabeth to go, she just didn't know when. Everyone knew they were dating, it had been gossip for a week. They were expecting them to go together, but she had to have the perfect way of asking. Romantic without being cheesy. She could ask Silena, but she wanted to do this all by herself. And independent woman.

Bianca had never asked Thalia to a dance, it was always Thalia asking her. It was annoying, so she decided to change things up. She already had two tickets on hold, and had told the student council who were working the sales to not sell any to Thalia. She had this under control.

When lunch came around, the table was mobbed. People waving money to get tickets for their partners. Leo patiently waited in line, buying tickets for himself and Frank. Percy chickened out at the last moment, not wanting to go. It was a shame. But at least he got to spend the night with Frank.

Piper was going to wait until she actually asked Annabeth, who was looking at her expectantly all lunch. She was just going to have to wait. Octavian had tried to get up and get tickets, but was pulled down by Rachel who told him to wait until the crowd died down. He sighed and sat back down, a victorious smile appeared on her face.

Finally, Percy walked up to Nico's table. He was just going to do it. Might as well, what's the worst that could happen? That was never a good thing to say. Bad luck. He shook his head as he placed a hand on Nico's shoulder.

"Oh, hi Perce." He said quietly, not sure of what was going on. Percy motioned for Nico to follow him as he walked towards the door of the lunchroom. He received strange looks from the rest of his table, but ignored them and followed.

"What's up?" Nico tried his best to sound casual, but his voice faltered a little. Percy was too nervous to notice it.

"I don't have anyone to go to the dance with, and since you don't either, I thought we could, maybe, go together. Or something," he blurted, then exhaled deeply. "Will you go to the dance with me?" He clarified.

Nico was more that shocked. He was absolutely terrified that it was a cruel joke, and was tempted to ask if he was kidding. But he didn't. Apparently he had been silent for quite a while, and a nervous grin appeared on Percy's face.

"Yes," he said way too quickly. He shook his head. "That would be great. Really awesome." Percy's smile turned from scared to genuinely happy. Nico couldn't help but grin too. Then suddenly, he was pulled into a tight hug. He could feel his face on fire. Percy pulled back way too soon, but kept his hands on the younger boys shoulders.

"We can talk about plans and stuff later, I'll go get the tickets. See you later, at practice right?" Nico nodded, still partially dazed. Percy walked out, opening both doors at once, making a grand entrance. Now how was Nico supposed to sneak in now? After catching his breath, he slowly walked in. Noticing all eyes on him, he lowered his gaze to his feet.

"Oh my god." Was the immediate exclamation from Reyna. "He asked you to the dance. Oh my god, I can't believe it! Yes!" She cheered along with most of the table. But Nico couldn't stop them, he was still very confused. But a good confused. It was like waking up out of a dream, and thinking you're still in it. But that dream was actually real.

Octavian kept glancing over at the bulletin board, waiting for Luke to go up there. But apparently he had to make the first move. Slowly he raised, almost pulled back down by Rachel, he explained he was going to go look at the board, not buy tickets, and she let go. He looked over the random assortment of papers. There was an opening to help in the library, he would have to look into that. He was reading a newsletter from Rachel's art club when someone tapped his shoulder. He jumped a little.

"Did you forget the real reason you came up here?" Luke chuckled. Octavian noticed he had a hand behind his back. That wasn't good. "What were you reading?"

Octavian looked back at the board and then to Luke. "Uh, something for the art club," he mumbled, then addressed the real question. "Why did you want to meet me here?"

Luke smiled wide. "Am I not allowed to see my wonderful boyfriend?" Tavvy glared. "Okay maybe that's not the real reason." He looked around, a bunch a people were staring at the odd duo. He cleared his throat loudly, capturing the rest of the cafeteria's attention. It took a few moments for everyone to shut up, but they all stared intently. "Octavian Simmons," he kneeled to the ground, pulling out two tickets and a single lilac rose. "Will you please go to the dance with me?"

There were several gasps, and many looks of confusion. Like Tavvy's. He really didn't expect this. Luke risking his popularity to go to the dance with him. He nodded slowly, a goofy smile crossing Luke's face. Tavvy would have made fun of him if everyone weren't looking at him and he wasn't in such a state of shock. Luke rose to his feet, and pulled his boyfriend into a soft kiss. If Octavian's face could have gotten any redder, it would have. As they kissed, applause broke out, along with shouts of 'bravo' and many whistles. Luke pulled away quickly, staring out at the crowd. He caught Silena's eyes, that were filled with unshed tears. Of happiness, hopefully. Luke bowed low, and Octavian pulled him back up.

After the cheers died down, and everyone went back to their lunch, with much more gossip, the couple went and sat down. Luke receiving high fives from people as he walked back to his table, and Tavvy hanging his head in embarrassment.

As Luke sat down, his table erupted again. Several shouts and plenty of pats on the back, but Luke was really paying attention to Tavvy slowly going back to his table. Silena shed her tears, and immediately started taking credit for the entire thing. He laughed as everyone congratulated her.

As Octavian sat down, everyone's mouths fell open. Even Percy. No one expected that, especially not Octavian. Rachel spoke up first.

"That's why I didn't want you to buy tickets, I was waiting for something to happen. I had a gut feeling," she explained triumphantly. Tavvy rolled his eyes. Rachel claimed to know what was going to happen all the time, no one believed her. Though there were many occasions when she was actually right.

"I was not expecting that," Piper said, "not at all." Annabeth nodded in agreement with her girlfriend. Octavian let out an exasperated laugh, trying to calm down.

"Me neither," his elbows slowly slid down until his head was resting on the table. Rachel rubbed comforting circles on his back. The gesture was nice, but Luke didn't understand how easily embarrassed Tavvy was. And how this made him a bigger target. Having your boyfriend on the football team had its advantages, but there were plenty of disadvantages. She knew he was strong, but that didn't matter now. They all had to protect him, and she wanted to discuss some things with Luke.

* * *

I'm sorry if the next update is a little late, I have been doing stuff, which is very surprising. But anywho, Pernico and OctaLuke here, yay. Review if you wanna, or not. Its otay. Thanks for reading!


	20. Chapter 20

"You look great, now shut up and help me with my hair." Bianca told Nico, after assuring him a million times he looked fine. He let out a sigh and went to check his suit one more time. She shook her head and went to Hazel's room, her little sister would be much more helpful in this scenario.

It wasn't that Nico really thought he looked bad, it was just he needed to look better. Not better, but he needed to be taller and more confident. Picking a different tie would not change that. He fell back onto his sister's bed, already tired. The dance started in an hour, at seven, and Bianca had not stopped bugging him since four. Whether it was about her dress, or her hair, or if Thalia was going to be on time.

"How many of these dances have you been to? And you're freaking nervous? What about me? I'm going with a guy ridiculously out of my league and I'm perfectly fine," he lied. But it made her go away for about an hour. Then she came right back.

Hazel was the good sister, she hadn't come out of her room once. Some guy that she knew asked her, and she looked pretty excited. She was a beautiful girl, no doubt, and Nico wanted her to go with a nice guy. Maybe it was just his brotherly instincts finally kicking in. When she finally came out, she looked absolutely gorgeous. She had a knee length purple dress with black lining, and floral pattern near the top. Her heels were black, along with her headband, with a small purple flower on the side.

Bianca had finally decided she couldn't look any better than she already did. Nico didn't like her dress nearly as much. Mostly because it was reveling almost everything. The neck line was way too low, and the back had almost no fabric on it. It went to her mid-thigh, way too short. Thalia probably talked her into wearing it. No wonder she was so self-conscience.

Nico looked at himself again. He had a grey button up shirt with long sleeves, and dress pants. His black tie matched his dress shoes. He looked pretty dull, really, but sharp. That was all he was going to get. You could not get Nico di Angelo to wear bright colors, no way in hell.

* * *

Percy Jackson was nowhere near ready, and supposed to pick his date up in five minutes. Needless to say, he was having a heart attack. He fixed his tie and sprinted to the kitchen, grabbing Paul's car keys. There was no way in hell he was going to be the guy that picked up his date in his mom's minivan. Paul had a nice car, it wasn't a sports car or anything, but it was nice.

Being the amazing almost stepfather, Paul let Percy wear one of his old tuxes. They were going to get married eventually, Percy knew that. Rachel predicted it too. It was plain black, and fit him remarkably well. He had a light blue shirt on, he had bought it a few years ago for a presentation. He failed it, but the shirt was still useful. He had a darker blue tie, with plain black shoes. His mother would not stop messing with his hair, and eventually came to the conclusion that it just did whatever it wanted. Percy could have told her that years ago.

As he climbed into the car, he had to wipe off his hands on his pants. Why was he so nervous? Oh yeah, his first date with the one and only Nico di Angelo. Well, Nico probably didn't think it was a date, but that didn't matter. As he pulled up to the huge house, he had to take a minute to breathe, then realized he was a few minutes late. He jumped out of the car and slammed the door. Great way to start off the night.

The doorbell made that weird noise it always did, it was kind of like a tune, but really deep. Bianca opened the door with a smile, it faltered a little when she realized it was Percy, then it turned into a huge grin.

"Hello Percy! Nico's in here somewhere, Neeks!" she shouted down the hallway, and out came a blushing Italian. He looked handsome, with all dark colors on. Percy suddenly felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He could do this, it was just a dance. He'd been to hundreds before. He held out his hand as the younger boy came closer, but he swatted it away and went out the door to Percy's car. Bianca laughed and closed the door behind them.

"So, you ready to go? Someone told me you've never been to a dance before?" Percy tried to start a little conversation to make Nico feel better. But he just blushed more.

Nico shook his head. "No, I don't really like them. And I've never had a date to go with, so…" He let too much slide, now Percy would think that no one had ever liked him! Which was true, but he didn't need to know that.

"Well, I'm your date now, so you're going to have the time of your life," Percy declared as he pulled out of long driveway. Nico smiled a little, which didn't go unnoticed by Percy. They chatted a little on the way, Nico voicing his opinion on his sister's dresses, and Percy arguing that Bianca was an adult and could dress however she wanted.

"But it's just, I don't know, gross. Showing that much skin is disgusting," he crossed his arms jovially, Percy rolled his eyes.

"So guys can go around shirtless when it's hot out and it's perfectly acceptable, but when girls want to its bad? I mean, seriously, it's not fair to them," Percy argued.

Nico glared at him. "Are you a girl? You seem as though you've fought this battle before," he smirked at the end.

"No, but Annabeth is such a feminist it rubs off on me sometimes. Our entire table gets into it, even Tavvy. It's quite funny," they rode the rest of the way in silence, minus Percy humming to the radio.

* * *

Frank was not expecting Leo to be so nervous about a stupid dance. Instead of jumping up and down, he was shaking. Frank tried to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off and went into the bathroom.

Leo wasn't ready for this dance at all. He didn't even want to go anymore. Some girl was going to steal Frank away from him and he would be left in the corner drinking punch all by himself. That was what happened whenever he went with someone to a dance. He was too shy to ask anyone, and positive they would say no. He was Leo, the short little Latino that couldn't get girls. Or guys. Or pets. They even hated him.

He raked a hand through his curls one more time, and smoothed his tux. He had a red button up shirt, and a black bow tie. A gift from Frank's grandmother. It actually looked pretty good. The tux wasn't his, he had rented it because buying it was ridiculously expensive. He would have to work at the garage 24/7 for the next two weeks to be able to afford it. With a few deep breathes, he walked out of the bathroom and ran into Frank. He blushed deeply when he realized his hands were on his chest, then quickly retrieved them, clasping them behind his back.

"You ready to go?" Frank asked slowly, making sure he wouldn't upset the other boy. He didn't know what was up with him, why would he be so nervous? It's just a stupid dance. Leo nodded eagerly and almost ran to the door, yelling behind him to Frank's grandmother that they were leaving.

Frank pulled Leo out of the driver seat forcefully, there was no way he was going to drive. Not when he was this jumpy. The younger boy pouted but went to the other side of the car. A light smile graced Frank's face as he sat, adjusting the seat so his knees weren't touching the steering wheel. He sometimes forgot how short Leo was, until he stood right next to him and looked down.

Neither talked on the way there, Leo lost in thought and Frank continuing to worry about his date. No, not his date. They were going as friends. Friends. That was it. He would just have to go with it and not make any stupid mistakes or rash decisions. Who was worrying now?

* * *

Piper had asked Annabeth to the dance, it had just gone terribly wrong. Apparently doves don't like it when you tie things to their feet and direct them to give it to someone, so the letter ended up in a mud puddle a few feet away from where Annabeth was standing. They both had a good laugh about it in the end, but Piper's amazing ask out ceremony failed. She should have asked Silena.

Annabeth had on a beautiful blue dress, it went all the way to the floor. It went straight down, not like a ball gown. She had on silver heels that you could see when she walked, and owl earrings. Her hair was down and she had straightened it. It looked strange but beautiful.

Piper thought she looked horrible. She had a green dress that went to her knees, it was simple looking, she hated dressing up. It had beads around the waist, and she had multicolored feathers in her hair, and sandals. They walked hand in hand into the gymnasium, but it didn't even look like a gym any more.

It had been completely done over. The theme was a 'A Night in London'. They had a giant Big Ben cut out, and various pictures of sights. It looked beautiful, and Piper grabbed Annabeth's hand a little harder. She was a little nervous now, she should have dressed up more. Everyone had on elaborate gowns.

Annabeth leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek, assuring her. Piper smiled and allowed herself to be dragged to the dance floor, where several couples were already dancing, the others lining the walls. The music was upbeat, and neither could dance, so they just jumped up and down a little, laughing at themselves and each other. Why was Piper nervous at all? This night was going to be perfect.

Percy smiled a little as he saw his best friend bobbing up and down on the dance floor. Annie looked like she was having fun. Nico next to him looked a little green, and not from the lights shining on him. After being nudged a few times, he stepped onto the floor. Piper beckoned him over, and he rolled his eyes, but obeyed. They danced for a while, not really talking, until Piper was pulled away by some of her friends. Already parched, Nico went to get some punch. When he got to the table, someone handed punch to him. He looked up to see it was Percy.

"Since you ditched me, I thought the least I could do was get you some punch. No need to thank me, I'm a gentleman," Percy stated and raised his head in pride. Nico rolled his eyes.

"It was Piper's fault, she wanted to dance with me." He gulped down the punch. It tasted normal, for now. It was going to be spiked sometime soon, it happened every year. One of the seniors, probably the Stoll's this year, bring in alcohol and poor it in. Last year no one warned him and he got a little tipsy before Bianca saved him.

As they both drank, Grover and Juniper danced together on the floor. Clarisse told jokes to Charles and Beckendorf. Silena was helping a cheerleader that had already had a dress malfunction. Hazel danced with her date, and Jason was talking to a cheerleader. Reyna was dancing with Annabeth and Piper, all having a blast. Bianca and Thalia had finally made it, after Thalia being twenty minutes late. Bianca was not pleased. Percy looked around and wondered, where was Tavvy and Luke?

* * *

Octavian let out a hearty laugh. "So todays the day your car breaks down. It couldn't wait until after the dance, or earlier today. This is great," his tone turned to bitter. Luke slammed his fist down on the car, he had checked everything, but he didn't know that much about cars, so it wasn't helpful at all.

"We are screwed. Very much screwed," he decided, laying down on the hood of the car, Tavvy slowly walked over and joined him. He grasped his hand, trying to calm him down.

"Why don't we just walk? It's not that far, only a mile or two. C'mon, let's go," Tavvy didn't wait for Luke's answer and set off towards their school. They would be a little late, but at least they would get there. Luke groaned and slid off the car, following his boyfriend.

They walked for half an hour, and of course, it started raining twenty minutes in. Surprisingly, it lightened both of their moods, laughing through the rainstorm. By the time they got to the school, they were drenched. They got under the cover and shook like dogs, trying to get as much water off as possible. Dragging mud and making puddles was usually frowned upon at school. When they couldn't get any more water off, Luke grabbed Tavvy's hand and walked in.

They followed the signs to the gym, and opened both doors at once, making a huge entrance. There were several gasps as everyone turned to look at the couple. Silena ran up to Octavian first, wiping the hair out of his eyes.

"What happened? You two go dancing in the rain?" She asked with a small smile, Luke shook his head.

"Car broke down and had to walk, then it started pouring. But we're here!" He shouted, and everyone started cheering. Luke grabbed Tavvy's chin and pulled him into a rough kiss, in front of everyone. He blushed, PDA wasn't up his ally, but this was Luke, so he kissed back. The cheering got louder and everyone went back to dancing with their dates.

The next one to come over was Rachel. "You could have called and I would have picked you up, you know." He shrugged.

"I didn't want to bother you, now go back to dancing. I'm fine," he said, waving her off. But instead of Rachel, Silena answered.

"You are going to get sick if you stay in these wet clothes. Go and dig through some gym lockers and find some clothes, now." They both wanted to argue, but Silena was serious, so they turned and went.

After finding some more acceptable clothes, Tavvy looked in the mirror. He had a golf shirt, in pink. Of course. He had kaki's on, but they only went to his knees. He found some black vans, and clean socks. He tried to memorize all the lockers he stole stuff from, but immediately forgot. Oh well. He put his head under the hand dryer to try and dry his hair. It made it look really poofy, but it was better than being wet.

Luke contemplated taking a shower, but he basically already did. He pulled on some jeans that were a little tight, and a polo shirt. He surprisingly found dress shoes, and long socks. His hair was still wet, but not that wet. He went to check on Tavvy, then stopped. What if he was in the middle of getting dressed? That would be awkward. He shrugged and kept walking. He found Tavvy sitting under the dryer, his hair waving around frantically. He laughed, and the younger boy whipped his head around, and stood up quickly, hitting his head on the dryer. He exclaimed something pretty nasty, and Luke doubled over in laughter.

"It's not funny, that really hurt," he pouted and rubbed his head. That was going to leave a mark.

"It was very funny actually, and those clothes just add another layer of hilarity. Were those the best you could find?" Luke asked, still trying to catch his breathe. Tavvy just nodded, blushing brightly in embarrassment. "C'mon, let's go dance."

Luke smiled and grabbed his boyfriend's hand and dragged him out of the locker room, and into the gym. It really looked good, student council outdid themselves this year. As the couple walked in, Annabeth rushed over to Octavian. She fixed his hair to the best of her abilities, then adjusted his shirt and yelled at him to tuck it in. Luke found it funny just watching.

After tucking in his shirt and his hair being fixed by five different girls (Annabeth, Rachel, Piper, Reyna and then Silena), he finally got to the dance floor. As soon as they stepped on the DJ started talking.

"Time to slow things down! Grab your date or special someone that you didn't have the guts to ask and come on over and dance!" Everyone started to shuffle over to their dates, and the people that came solo started to move off the floor. Luke turned and placed his hand on Tavvy's hip, and held the other one to the side. It took him a little while to calm down, but eventually Octavian moved into position, and they started swaying back and forth. Everyone else in their tuxes and dresses, and the couple in stranger's clothes.

Percy walked up to Nico slowly, approaching from behind. Sneak attack style. He placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, and of course he jumped. Thank the gods he didn't have punch in his hand, it would have gotten everywhere. He turned and looked at Percy expectantly, but the older boy only jerked his head in the direction of the dance floor. Nico swallowed audibly and nodded slowly. Percy grabbed his hand and pulled him. On the floor, they turned to face each other. Nico staring into the sea green eyes of his love. Wait, love? No no no, crush, not love. Stupid brain.

Percy placed a hand on his hip, and Nico quickly went into the correct place. Percy led, as they swayed along with the music. Carefully, Percy closed the gap between their bodies, Nico almost leaning on Percy. Slowly, he looked up and found Percy staring at him. With a sudden surge of confidence, Nico raised up on his tip toes and connected their lips. Percy was shocked, then eagerly returned the kiss. Truth be told, Percy had kissed a lot of people, but those kisses had nothing on this kiss.

Annabeth, a few feet away, buried her head in Piper's hair. Percy was happy, so was she. And it helped she was dancing with her amazingly beautiful girlfriend. Just a little. Piper looked over to Silena and Charles, dancing elegantly and professionally. She probably made Charlie take ballroom dance lessons, that sounded like something she would do. Grover and Juniper were chatting quietly as they danced. Even Clarisse was dancing, and Chris looked like the happiest guy in the world. Bianca and Thalia were slowly dancing, quite awkwardly. Bianca could dance quite well , but Thalia couldn't at all. Reyna was with a random guy that asked her, Hazel danced with her date. Jason was off in the corner making out with his date. Classy. The Stoll's, who could probably picked up any girl there, danced with each other. Ignoring everyone else's giggles.

Then there was Frank and Leo near the drink table. Neither wanted to dance, really. Well, they told themselves that. But when Frank saw a girl that was eying up Leo, he instinctively grabbed his hand and pulled the confused boy with him to the dance floor. Leo didn't struggle, but when they got to the dance floor, he cocked his head to the side. Frank ignored this and placed his hand on the boys hip, not waiting for him to start swaying back and forth. Leo hurriedly steadied himself, and swayed along with him, burying his blushing face in Frank's chest. His very muscular chest. No, no thoughts like that. Bad Leo.

Several broken heels and tears later, the dance was over. Leo had drunken too much spiked punch, and was leaning on Frank for full support. Everyone told him it was spiked, but he ignored it. It seemed like he wanted to get drunk. Percy and Nico walked hand in hand, in front of Piper and Annabeth. Luke was laughing at Tavvy, for no reason really. He was a bit tipsy, and Octavian was trying to help him, but he was sure that he was fine. Even after running into a wall, he shouted that he wasn't drunk at all. Maybe he was a bit more than tipsy. But they all had a great time, and didn't let anyone drive home that was drunk. Responsible teenagers.

Paul laughed as he watched the group come out of the building. Several were shouting, a bunch laughing, and a few in silence with their partners. Young love, beautiful.

* * *

Yay! Pernico finally together, OctaLuke stuck in the rain, everyone is together! Except Freo, officially. Review if you want to, it would be greatly appreciated by moi. Thanks for reading!


	21. Chapter 21

Luke was prepared, Tavvy was nervous, Percy was grinning like an idiot. It was the first football game of the season, and Coach Hedge had a lot riding on this game. Depending on how well they did, they might be feared or laughed at. The former was preferable.

Frank and Percy weren't all that worried, the team they were playing was average, but not bad. But their team was great. They had Luke and Octavian, there was no way they could lose. Percy slipped out to meet Nico before the game, leaving Frank alone in the locker room. He laid back on the wooden bench. He was so lost in thought he didn't even hear the squeaky door open.

"Are you all alone in here?" Leo asked, and Frank rolled off the bench. Leo immediately rushed to his side, kneeling beside him. He was about to ask if he was okay, but Frank interrupted with a hearty laugh. Leo couldn't help himself, he started chuckling too. They stayed there for a while, just laughing, both on the ground.

When they finally stopped, they both sat in silence, until Leo caught Frank's eye. Frank couldn't help himself, staring at the Latino. His perfect mocha curls framed his face, his brown eyes shining. Slowly, he leaned up, as Leo descended. They were within inches of each other when a call rang out through the lockers.

"It's time to go!" One of the seniors called, and then he heard a door slam. Leo immediately jumped up and ran out. Frank fell back, hitting his head on the concrete. He didn't really care about the pain, he just let out a large sigh, grabbed his helmet and walked out to join his teammates. They had to ruin the perfect moment, now Leo would probably never talk to him again. Stupid football.

Nico sat on the bleachers in his usual spot, but Leo was missing. Piper and Annabeth sat on the other side of him, holding hands and already cheering. Grover and Juniper were behind him, sharing a soda. Hazel sat with Reyna, both talking animatedly. Clarisse sat with Bianca and Thalia, all of the cheerleaders were warming up on the field already.

Nico caught sight of a mop of curls heading up the stairs, and moved a little closer to Annabeth. He was absentmindedly holding Leo's seat. He did it every day during practice, but this time he probably wouldn't fall asleep. He had a light blush on his cheeks, but the look on his face made it obvious he didn't want to talk about it. Or anything. A scowling Leo was abnormal, and very scary.

Instead, he looked down at the field. The cheerleaders had started. Silena was of course the captain. She looked completely in her element down there, doing incredible flips and pyramids. The crowd cheered as they performed flawlessly. Then, the game started. After the coin flip, their school got the ball. Everyone cheered as they all got into positon, then… hike!

The game was even easier than expected. Octavian let out a shaky breathe as he checked the final score. They dominated them fifty to seven. Luke ran over and pulled him into a huge hug, and gave him a light slap on his ass. Looking at his boyfriend, Octavian looked mortified. Luke laughed and pressed a kiss onto his forehead. He would let it go this time, because traditionally football players did hit each other on the ass, but Tavvy would have none of that.

Frank and Percy were so happy their tiredness wasn't apparent at all. Jumping up and down and whooping like idiots, they eventually got to the bleachers. Nico and Leo had come down as close as they could, to a chain-link fence that went up to Percy's belly button. Both had grins on their faces, even Leo. He decided to forget about what happened and move on.

Percy was the first one over, and pulled Nico into a kiss. Nico blushed brightly, but eagerly returned it. Frank walked up beside him, directly in front of Leo. They both looked at each other, Frank quizzically, Leo with a steady expression. His smile faltered for a millisecond, then he leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss onto the taller boy's lips. He immediately backed up, regretting his decision. He sprinted away, behind the bleachers.

With some effort, Frank jumped over the fence. He was too tired for this, but it was Leo. He ran after him, calling out to the boy. He lost sight of Leo after a few minutes, and started to look around instead. He stopped when he heard a weird noise, like someone crying. Oh no. He walked up to a pile of wood, and peered behind it. Sitting there was Leo Valdez, tears running down his tanned face. Frank walked to the other side, not letting his eyes leave Leo, like the boy would disappear again.

Slowly, he kneeled down, not unlike Leo had when he fell off the bench in the locker room, but there was no laughing here. He put two fingers under the boys chin, and pushed his head up to look at him. He finally saw what was behind those beautiful brown eyes, pain. The pain of losing his mother so young, getting kicked out of so many schools, getting beaten at foster homes, and never being loved. He finally understood.

Leo started to shake in fear. Frank pulled him into a hug, but it was much more than just a hug. It was assurance. Slowly, Frank leaned in, and stopped an inch in front of his lips.

"Leo, I love you. So don't run away from me," he whispered. Leo couldn't even comprehend what he was saying before lips crashed into his. He didn't know what to do, so he pushed back. Frank's lips moved feverishly against his. They stayed like that until Leo had to pull back to breathe, leaning into Frank for support. Frank smiled, he had just won a football game and Leo was the one that was tired.

He put hand around the younger boy's waist, and lifted the boy up. Then he stood up himself, grabbing Leo's hand and pulling him behind him back to the field. But Leo let go, and crossed his arms. His tears had dried up, but his eyes were still red.

"You can't just say stuff like that and forget about it," Leo pouted. Frank let out a deep sigh. Did Leo not understand anything.

"I didn't forget about it. We're going back to the field to be with the rest of my team and their partners," he explained tiredly.

Leo blinked. "Wait, I'm y-your partner? When did I agree to this?" He said, more confused than angry.

"When you kissed me, now c'mon. We don't wanna keep them waiting," Frank smiled and pulled the flustered boy behind him.

Octavian and Luke hadn't separated since they won. Tavvy had been grabbed by the hand and dragged everywhere Luke went, not that he minded. He just wanted to go see his friends too. Everyone congratulated them with pats on the backs or hugs, which Octavian didn't enjoy very much. Finally, Luke said goodbye to a group of seniors and they went back to the locker room.

They both undressed silently, Tavvy catching the occasional look Luke gave him. He didn't disguise it at all, making Tavvy's face redden. He wasn't surprised when he felt arms wrap around his waist, and leaned back to the touch. Luke buried his head in the boy's hair, his hands moving from his waist to the toned stomach of his lover. Tavvy turned his head and nibbled on Luke's ear.

At the beginning of their relationship, he was afraid Luke would leave him because of how unexperienced he was. He'd kissed a girl before, not enjoyable at all, but that was it. Luke had been with tons of girls, and maybe guys. There was no he was a virgin to say the least, so Tavvy really didn't expect him to stay around. But Luke was gentle, going slow with him until he was ready. And he was ready. He grabbed Luke's hand and turned around, about to place the hand on his-

"Woah woah woah, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. You two are in public," Chris whistled as he leaned against the lockers. Tavvy jumped and dropped Luke's hand, then realized he was only in his boxers. Luke stepped in front of him, shielding him from view.

"Hey, Chris. What do you want?" Luke sounded completely calm, like nothing had happened. Tavvy was fumbling with his pants, sliding them on quickly, then throwing a shirt over his head.

Chris chuckled lightly. "My stuff is in here too, and everyone is waiting for the team captain and star player. In case you didn't know, that's you two." He turned around and went to his locker, ignoring the open mouthed junior.

"S-star player? I'm not the star player," he huffed and turned back to his locker, fumbling with his belt. Luke sat down on the wooden bench, slipping shoes on.

"Yes you are Tavvy, you know it too. You're just too humble," he said. Octavian laughed, and received a confused look.

"I am not humble at all, you should have seen me after we got our test back in Algebra and I beat Annabeth. She wouldn't talk to me for a week," he smiled weakly, and stepped into his sneakers. He stood up, looking expectantly at Luke, who groaned as he stood. "C'mon, old man."

"That's no way to treat your elders," he pressed a light kiss on Tavvy's lips, feeling him smirk into the kiss.

"Well then, cradle robber, let's go."

Nico looked even more tired than Percy. They had all agreed to go to Tavvy's diner after the game. Nico had propped his head up on his hand, almost nodding off in the middle of dinner. It was really cute, but Percy didn't want him to end up face first in a plate of pasta. It would be most unfortunate.

Piper and Annabeth were at a separate table, talking about a drama they watched together. Grover and Juniper sat with Reyna and Rachel at another table. They seemed to be having an argument. Percy shrugged it off and looked over to where Frank, Leo, and Jason were sitting. His girlfriend had already broken up with him, but he looked fine. Probably happened to him a lot.

The seniors had another table. Well, the seniors and Tavvy. They were yelling about the game, and Octavian's face was gradually getting redder. They were probably complimenting him. He needed to learn some self-confidence. Luke put an arm around him, which he snuggled up to. They were so adorable together. Luke, the heartbreaker, the quarterback, the king of the school. Octavian, the king of the nerds, football player not by choice, D and D dungeon master (he had been invited to join, but declined politely). Even Silena couldn't have predicted them being together.

Nico snapped out of his daze, only to catch Percy looking around the room at everyone, a big, stupid grin on his face.

"Hey," he mumbled and leaned into the green eyed boy's shoulder. Percy kissed the Italian's head.

"Good morning, wait, it's not morning. You know what I mean," Percy shrugged, making Nico smile a little. "Do you wanna come over to my house after this, Paul and my mom are out, it'll just be us." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, but it just came across childishly.

Nico laughed, and then blushed at the actual meaning. "Yeah, that'd be great." Percy was going to make a snide remark, when Luke stood up and pulled Tavvy up with him.

"Everyone, I would like to congratulate you for winning this game. Oh, stand up Tavvy," Luke ordered as the boy tried to sit back down. "Anyway, oh, and thank you to those of you that cheered us on! We couldn't have done it without your support!" He sat back down, but Tavvy remained standing, glaring down at his boyfriend.

"Why the hell did you tell me to stand up!" He shouted, and giggled erupted from various tables, even those that weren't part of the celebrating group.

"No reason, now sit." He said and pulled him down into his chair. Percy laughed at the look on Tavvy's face, then turned back to his own boyfriend. He raised his glass of diet coke, Nico did the same.

"To a great year, with tons of memories, some yet to come," Percy said, his eyes never leaving his lover.

"And a school that you'll hopefully stay in for a little longer," Nico joked.

"Oh, please, I'll be here until my senior year. Cheers, Neeks."

**_The End_**

* * *

I want to thank everyone for reading one final time! This story has been fun to write, but all fun things must come to an end. Or is that good things? Never mind. Anyway, please review and such if you want. I'm probably going to write some OctaLuke because I fell in love with them while writing this story. If you you like my stuff, please check out my other stories. If you want. Not forcing you. Thanks for reading!


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